


Tickle Bumps

by DashingHeights



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Kristanna, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-10 07:40:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 38,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3282350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashingHeights/pseuds/DashingHeights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Watch Kristoff and Anna's fuzzy, fluffy, awkward, teenage romance bloom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Are We Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some teenage Kristanna fluffies~ These two dorks would be the cutest high school sweethearts, if they had high school in Arendelle. This doesn't exist in the canon universe, obviously, for several reasons:  
> A) Elsa's not locked up in her room, their parents were smart, but Anna still barely sees her.  
> B) Anna is 13 and Kristoff and Elsa are 16.  
> C) Hans is a local bully of sorts, son of a duke or some rich person (details, details).  
> P.S. For some reason I imagine Hans to smell like a girl and, since it’s a recurring joke in the movie that Kristoff smells like reindeer, I thought it would be hilarious if Anna preferred the reindeer smell.

Anna almost flew down the stairs, tripping the last couple steps but miraculously managing to stay upright as she flung herself at the castle doors. She paused to glance back at the balcony, getting a small smile and an encouraging wave from her sister, Elsa. With a last giggle of excitement, Anna yanked open the doors and hurdled through at almost-full speed. Finally, they were letting her go out on her own! Finally, she could run in an unrestricted space! Not that the castle wasn't plenty spacious, but the walls were a bit deterring. The guards waved at her and obligingly opened the gates, allowing her to get her first look at all the exploring she had to do.

Of course, the first thing she did was skip a little too nonchalantly to the chocolate stand, noting an older boy in a crisp uniform at the stall next door. He eyed her blankly and she cleared her throat, attempting to ignore his intense stare. She exchanged a few words with the chocolate man and skipped away as quickly and inconspicuously as she could, box in hand. 

A hand on her wrist halted her, “excuse me, but I couldn’t help but notice you look my way. My name is Hans.” She was about to slug this stranger for touching her, _how dare he touch her, she was the princess- Oh_. She blinked up at the boy. He had the beginnings of sideburns (which were the first thing she noticed), dazzling blue eyes, hard-set features and a very charming smile. Oh yes, he was the picture perfect Prince Charming, except for the fact that he held himself rather pompously and smelled suffocatingly of daffodils. Anna took a step back, removing her hand from his grasp with a curt smile, “Princess Anna. It’s nice to meet you.”

“May I walk with you?” he asked, and she nodded. They talked small for a little while before Anna perked up again, explaining her shut-in life and yelling about how happy she was to be outside. All the while she kept a safe distance from him, avoiding the girly smell. Sometimes a loud crash would sound or a wave would spray them and Hans would grip her protectively against him. This was getting more and more uncomfortable every time it happened, but she pressed on. The more she talked of her excitement, the more wound up she got, and pretty soon she was running again and Hans did his best to keep up with her.

As the young redhead bobbled through the marketplace, she took in everything with wide arms. The sun, the summer flowers, the salty ocean breeze. How could Elsa not want to be out here? She suddenly regretted running with her eyes closed as another smell hit her. Literally. Hay, maybe moss, something definitely earthy and something else that was almost horse-like. She plopped back on her butt, shaking her head and glaring up at whatever she'd hit.

Or whoever, as it turned out.

Surprised, brown eyes stared back at her, blond hair tousled unceremoniously and gangly limbs held out in front of him as if he'd tried to stop her before doing exactly what she'd just done. "I'm sorry!" she laughed uproariously, then squeaked as Hans lifted her to her feet. "You should never feel sorry towards him," he grunted. Anna blinked, "but I ran into him. I wasn't looking where I was going." She didn't like the way he turned his nose up at her words.

"I'm Anna, by the way," she waved enthusiastically, grinning at the boy she'd hit. "Kristoff.." he muttered, rolling his eyes at the snort that Hans answered him with. "You were in Miss Anna's way." Anna pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Hans. "But he was-" was all she could get out before he cut her off. "And that terrible smell of reindeer is blinding." Kristoff opened his mouth to retort but Anna's tongue was quicker, "Reindeer? Is that what that is? Why does he smell like reindeer? Why do you smell like reindeer?"

As if on cue, her answer came thundering down the cobble straight at them; a half grown reindeer buck with just the beginnings of antlers. Kristoff turned just in time to be bowled over, the animal covering his face in slobbery licks, it's butt wagging with it's tail. Hans had shoved Anna protectively behind him but the laughter and excitement that came from the previously guarded teenager on the ground in front of them was enough to spike her curiosity. "Sven, you couldn't wait just a little longer?" Kristoff chuckled, scratching the beasts scruffy neck and attempting to stop the drowning licks. To Anna's great shock and amusement, he lent a silly voice to the reindeer in answer of his own question, "I got hungry!"

Hans pushed her back with him as he retreated but she ducked under his arm and gave him a rebellious glare, "I can take care of myself." "Suit yourself, but he’s just the town embarrassment," he growled in response, turning on his heel and hurrying away, clearly irritated. Anna stuck her tongue out before taking a tentative step forward to watch as Kristoff, who was now back on his feet, pulled a carrot from his jacket and held it out to his pet. After biting it in half, Sven nudged it back at him and he promptly crunched his own portion, earning a grimace from Anna. "I think that was the grossest thing I've ever seen."

Both of them stared as if they couldn't believe she was still standing there. Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck before shrugging, causing his chest to tighten and arms to flex. Anna shook herself, grinning again and grabbing his hand without offer to shake it. "It's nice to meet you! I like your reindeer! Do you live around here? Can-"

Her sentence was again interrupted by a very confused Kristoff, who wrenched his hand back after a minute of her shaking it and took a step back. "Look, I don't need more people to bug me, okay? I get it enough, as your boyfriend just demonstrated." He hadn't meant to sound harsh but Anna cringed anyway, shuffling her feet and mumbling, "he’s not my boyfriend," before turning to go.

The reindeer gave him a pointed look and Kristoff sighed heavily, brushing his thick fingers through his bangs, "A- uh.." what was her name again? Right! "Anna, wait." She glanced over her shoulder to see him pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut, "I suppose it's good to meet you, too. No I don't live around here, and what were you going to ask?"

“If we could be friends,” was the very blatant reply. Kristoff blinked, opening his mouth to say something but closing it again. Nothing would come out. Friends? The only friend he’d ever had was Sven, so his people skills weren’t particularly well developed. Not to mention he was rugged and did indeed smell a bit, and she was so teeny and.. clean. “You don’t want to be friends with me,” he scoffed, patting Sven on the muzzle when he nudged him. Anna crossed her arms stubbornly, “Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t.”

"And why not?”

He couldn’t give her an answer. He only snorted in irritation and turned away, pulling Sven, who seemed to be grinning apologetically at her, after him. But she was not giving up that easy. “You can’t just walk away!” she waved her arms in protest, jogging after them. Kristoff quickened his pace but, despite his legs being longer, she still somehow kept up with them. Finally he whipped around, an annoyed glare on his face.

He didn’t keep it for long, however, as she tripped over her feet and barreled into him again. He caught her by the underarms, staring down at her with half-hearted reprimandation. “This is what happens when you don’t listen,” he scowled, righting her rather roughly. She brushed herself off, punching him in the arm before just smiling again, “I’ll follow you until you can give me a reason not to be your friend.”

"What if I don’t want friends?” he shot, but it lacked conviction and he knew it. His hands were balled into fists, shoulders tense and threatening, but Anna just sighed, “Well, I want friends. I’ve been stuck inside my whooole life! And you don’t smell like that other guy, Hans, did.” This caught him off guard, making him drop his intimidating stance and look over at Sven in question. He made the reindeer laugh, “you must not get out much if you think Kristoff smells better.” This earned him a glare from Kristoff and a giggle from Anna.

“I like that you do that,” she beamed, “talk for him, I mean. Like you understand what he’s thinking.” Kristoff’s expression softened considerably at this, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Oh, you can smile!” Anna exclaimed triumphantly, putting her hands on her hips and puffing her little chest out. He laughed at her and his laugh made her feel just as warm as it sounded. “Yes, I can smile,” he continued to chuckle, leaning on Sven. The reindeer had a grin on his face, looking from Anna to Kristoff and back. 

There was a moment where neither said anything and the only sounds were of the trades and arguments of the market. Anna felt her face flush red after a moment, realizing she’d been staring at him. Kristoff coughed, “So, uh.. What are you doing out here, anyway?” Anna shrugged, “I could ask you the same thing. Especially since you said you don’t live around here.” Okay, so she had a point. Kristoff brushed her arm gently, motioning for her to walk with Sven and him as they continued through the marketplace. “We’re just passing through and buying some supplies. We’re ice harvesters, so-”

"Ice harvesters?” Anna glowed with curiosity, grabbing his arm and staring at him intently. He nodded, standing just a little straighter at her interest. He smiled smugly, clearing his throat in a proud manner, “Yes, ice harvesters. It’s tough work, but it’s worth it. And the ice is so beautiful, Anna, you should see it under the waking sky..” He trailed off a bit before bringing himself back with a shake of his head, “And Sven likes it, too. He gets to run the sled.” Ann nodded, “Sven. That’s the reindeer, right?”

They’d reached the edge of the market now, Kristoff pausing to look behind them at the sun still bright in the sky. “Well, I don’t want to keep you, and I could honestly use a bath. Maybe you should head back to.. wherever it is you came from.” Anna slugged his arm again, “no way, I’m sticking with you. Er, not to bathe..” She flushed when he gaped at her, but he only laughed after her explanation. “I would hope not. I just met you. But really, Anna-” She slapped her hand over his mouth, having to stand on the very tips of her toes to look him in the eyes, “I’m sticking with you! I already said that! This is my first day out on my own, I’m not going back before I absolutely have to! I can wait for you to bathe!”

They squabbled like this for another ten minutes or so, and continued to bicker even as Anna followed him out of town and up the path to the mountains. Luckily, he was camped fairly close by, out of sight of the trail. Literally camped, Anna found, blinking at the rolled out furs in the back of a parked sled, one pulled over a tree limb to serve as a tent. He’d said he was an ice harvester, but she had expected him to live.. well, anywhere but here, like this. She didn’t say anything, however, seeing him glance at her from the corner of his eye. He’s embarrassed by it, she thought softly, a faint smile pulling at the corner of her lips, that’s cute.

Sven immediately jumped up into the back of the sled, flopping onto his side under the fur roof, his little tail waving as he watched Anna and Kristoff. “It’s not much,” Kristoff muttered, poking some discarded carrot stems with the toe of his boot, “but we get by. It serves its purpose.”

“I think it’s amazing!” Anna chimed, hopping over to drop next to Sven, “like a big campout, all the time! And these are so soft.” She pet the furs beneath her, leaning on Sven with a small gasp, “he’s soft! I could sleep with him! Oh, that’s why you smell like reindeer, huh?” Kristoff only nodded, staring disbelieving at the girl... on.. his.. bed.. “I like it!” she giggled, hugging a very happy-looking Sven around the neck. Kristoff smiled at him, rolling his eyes. 

Shoved under the seat of his sled were various items including a full knapsack, some extra clothes, three bundles of carrots, and an old lute that was falling apart. This Anna reached over to pick up, gasping when the top splintered and hung uselessly by the strings, “oh, I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t mean-” Kristoff shushed her, taking it and positioning the piece back in place before tightening the strings to hold it there. “It was already broken,” he shrugged, putting it back with the other things, “There’s a new one down in the market that I’m saving up for. The guy’s holding it for me.”

Anna had never had to “save up” for anything in her life so she didn’t exactly understand what he meant, but she decided not to comment. Something told her it would be rude to ask. She watched quietly, swinging her legs as Kristoff rummaged in the knapsack. He pulled out a green lump of something, and a book. The book he handed to her, coughing and turning a very faint shade of pink, “while you wait. It’s all I’ve got.. Sorry.” 

“While I wait for wha- oh, right,” she nodded, taking the book from him, “you were going to take a bath.. Where?” He jerked his thumb behind them at a wide pond which she hadn’t noticed before. “You wash in that?” she crinkled her nose, but immediately wiped a blank expression across her face when he winced. “I’m sorry, Kristoff-” 

“It’s okay,” he sighed, shrugging weakly and moving to the front of the sled. She didn’t feel like it was okay. He paused in removing his shirt, raising his eyebrows at her until she got the hint and turned back around. Sven had his eyes closed now, snoring lightly even as Anna leaned on him. She listened to the rustling of Kristoff’s clothes and the quiet disturbance of the water. He’d hesitated with the last piece of clothing, which made her smirk in amusement.

The book he’d given her was worn and dusty, but she still held it like it was the most precious thing she’d ever seen. She normally hated books, having nothing to do but read them all the time, but this book interested her. She could barely make out the title in big, script letters: Food for Thought. Upon opening it, she found that it wasn’t a book at all, but more like a journal that a bunch of different people had written random ideas in. Some of them made her laugh and some of them made her blush beat red.

She was in the middle of a particularly interesting paragraph when Kristoff eased the book gently out of her hands and stowed it back in the bag. She huffed, crossing her arms, “I wasn’t done with that. What is it, anyway?” 

“Something the ice harvesters pass around to occupy extra time. We read it and sometimes add things to it.” He hopped up to sit beside her, running his fingers through his damp hair, “So, what do you wanna do now?” Anna tapped her chin, shifting her weight to lean on him instead of Sven. Nothing came to mind immediately, but she caught the lute out of the corner of her eye and grinned.

“Can you play it?” she asked, tugging on his sleeve. He nodded, reaching behind him and carefully lifting the wooden instrument with both hands. As he set it in his lap, he bit his lip, “Although, I don’t know if it’ll stay together much longer.” He thumbed a string or two and Sven raised his head, ears forward as if ready for something. Kristoff laughed lightly, “oh, you think we’re singing, do you? Okay. One song, just for you, buddy.” 

Anna wiggled around excitedly, getting comfortable on the edge of her seat in anticipation. Kristoff cleared his throat nervously, strumming a chord or two before plunging into a song they had obviously rehearsed before, “Reindeers are better than people. Sven, don’t you think that’s true?” And then he sang for his friend, “Yeah, people will beat you and curse you and cheat you. Every one of them’s bad, except you.”

“But people smell better than reindeers. Sven, don’t you think I’m right?” 

“That’s once again true, for all except you.” 

Sven had a smug look on his face at this point, and Anna giggled, “I like the way you smell.” Both of them stopped to stare at her, Kristoff with wide eyes and a faint blush. “You do?” was all he could manage to say, absentmindedly messing with the hair on the nape of his neck. To Anna’s nod he set the lute down, leaning closer to her with skeptical, narrow eyes. Their noses almost touched as he asked, “is your nose broken?” 

“No, it’s not broken,” she scoffed, shoving him back half-heartedly, “I just like the smell of horses. And reindeer is similar.” She tapped her fingers on her knees, ignoring his unconvinced gaze. “Do you really think people are so bad?” she ventured carefully, catching him off guard yet again. She seemed to do that a lot. “Well, I don’t have the best history with people,” he responded under his breath, “but you’re not so bad, I guess.”

Anna hadn’t noticed the sun was so low until she grinned up at Kristoff and it caught one side of his straw-coloured hair. She blinked, looking over towards where she thought the path back to Arendelle was, “I should get back.” There was a breathy sigh in her words, and Kristoff chuckled, getting down from the sled. “Okay,” he offered her his hand, “I go to work early, anyway, so I need to get to sleep.”

They left Sven in the sled, walking quietly down the mountain. Kristoff let Anna set the pace, which was surprisingly slow. Truth was, she didn’t want to go back. She hadn’t had a friend since Elsa shut her out and she liked being around this scruffy ice harvester. “How long will you be in town?” she inquired, nudging him. He actually sighed, “well, the older guys say I’m not old enough to go up into the deep mountains with them, where it’s always frozen, so probably until winter.”

"That’s months away!” Anna giggled rather enthusiastically, “so I can see you until then?” Kristoff halted on the edge of town, blinking down at her. He didn’t think that’s why she asked, “you want to see me again?” She snorted, “of course. We’re friends, remember?”

He hadn’t, but he did now. And the thought made him smile.


	2. This is a Thing Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, Kristoff is just extremely confused and entertained by Anna, nothing more. And Anna herself finds Kristoff hilarious and fun to be around. Don’t worry, the flirting will happen, just not yet. Also, something I forgot to mention, Anna knows about Elsa's powers and I do drop little movie references here and there. Scavenger hunt! Go find 'em!

Knock, knock, knock. Anna rapped on her sister's door, "Elsa?" A muffled, "yes?" answered her and she grinned widely. "I made a friend, Elsa!" There came the shuffling of bare feet on carpet as Elsa approached her door, but she did not open it, "that's great, Anna." It had been a long time since the two sisters had talked face to face. Elsa had decided a while ago that her powers needed practice before she could be around Anna, but these conversations through her door were a regular thing. Anna would see her for meals or royal occasions, but she was always by herself; across the room, at the other end of the table, sitting in their parents' thrones.  
Anna pressed herself up against the bedroom door, head turned so her ear was flat to it, "he has a sled, too, and it’s pulled by a reindeer!"  
"A reindeer?" Elsa snorted incredulously, leaning against the other side of the wood. Anna squeaked, "yeah! And it talks! Well, he talks for it. Like he knows what it's trying to say!" She suddenly had to pinwheel her arms to keep from face planting as Elsa's door was pulled open. Anna couldn't believe it, there stood her sister in a frosty-blue, summer gown, face twisted in suspicion. She could see her face!  
"He talks for it," Elsa confirmed aloud. She wanted to tell Anna that his mind probably wasn't too healthy, but her little sister looked so radiant and happy that she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she smiled warmly and nodded, taking a step back to close the door again. Before she could, however, Anna put her hands in the doorway, "wait, please don't close it! Please, Elsa? I could sit with you in there! I won't bother you, I swear!" Elsa looked down at her hands, small tendrils of icy fog curling from her fingers. "You don’t bother me, but.. I don't know, Anna," she shook her head, clenching her hands into fists. Anna whined, "how will you know it's safe if you never try it?"  
Unable to argue with that, Elsa dropped her head and stepped aside for Anna to enter. She watched cautiously as her sister did her best not to jump for joy; she was practically shaking, she was so excited. Elsa's room was cold, but not uncomfortably so. The windows were fogged with a thin layer of ice, and tiny snowflakes that fell from the ceiling disappeared before they hit the carpet. Anna turned to her sister with the biggest smile Elsa had ever seen, making her smile back, “do you like it?”  
“Elsa, it’s beautiful!” Anna breathed, holding her hands out to catch the quickly fading flakes. Elsa looked delighted to hear the awe in her sister’s voice, clasping her hands together in front of her chest and grinning. “I never knew what I was capable of,” she giggled, playing with the tassels and lace that lined the sleeves and neckline of her dress, “I made this part.”  
Anna’s eyes widened even further, were that physically possible, “You made that? That’s amazing!” Elsa dipped her head and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, gesturing for Anna to sit on the bed, "okay, tell me all about this new friend of yours."  
They sat like that for several hours, Anna doing most of the talking. She explained that Kristoff was an ice harvester and that he lived in a fur tent in the back of his sled. She didn’t catch the smug look on her sister’s face when she commented on how big his nose was and how cute it made him look. Occasionally Elsa would ask a question, like "what does he do for company" and Anna would reply with "he doesn't."  
"I'm his company now," she was bragging sitting up straight with her hands on her hips, tilting her head from side to side, "well, besides Sven."  
"Sven?"  
"That's his reindeer's name."  
Elsa had an amused smirk on her face by the end of it, chuckling as Anna spoke of how he slept with Sven so he smelled like reindeer, but not in a bad way. "Is there a good way to smell like reindeer?" she couldn't help but jest, and Anna shot her a playful glare. "There is if you're Kristoff."

Sven romped about in the shallows of the pond, occasionally splashing Kristoff, who was watching him play from the center of the stagnant pool. It came up to the middle of his waist and was so reflective he could use it as a mirror as he shaved for the first time in a few days. He was still growing, so he didn't have a lot of hair, but after a while it grew long enough that it bothered him. Once finished, he rinsed his knife in the water, tossed it onto shore, and looked at Sven for approval. The reindeer barked and nodded his head, causing a smile to break over Kristoff's face.  
Unable to join the older harvesters at the frozen lakes, he met the ice runners halfway to deliver the blocks to the icehouse. There was lots of heavy lifting involved and today had been grueling. Not because it was hard, but because he had been constantly wondering if Anna really meant it when she said they were friends. He rubbed his sore biceps and pectoral muscles, rolling his wrists to stretch them out as he thought. That girl was odd and she amused him, but he seriously doubted he would ever see her again. That is, until someone giggled behind him.  
After talking with Elsa, Anna had been so enlivened to see her friend again that she left in a flustered hurry. Her hair was half-heartedly braided, bangs sticking out at odd angles, strands rebelling against gravity, but the sight of her standing there at the edge of the pool where he was bathing naked sent Kristoff into a deep crimson flush. "A-Anna-!" he stammered, turning to face her, but he slipped on the flat pebbles beneath him and fell back into the water. She was laughing now.  
He resurfaced to see her holding her belly and her mouth, eyes squeezed shut and face red. "Th-That's not funny!" he stuttered, scrambling back to sit with his legs crossed, still half submerged, "what are you even doing here?"  
"I told you I wanted to see you again," she breathed, just managing to keep her giggles under control, "though I didn't think I'd be seeing so much of you."  
"You did not!"  
"No, I didn't, I'm joking," it was becoming increasingly harder for her to breath. Kristoff was more than a little annoyed, turning away from her and gesturing for Sven to move in front of him so he could stand up. When Anna didn't say anything else, he risked a glance over his shoulder and almost fell back in shock. "Anna, what are you doing?" he squeaked, an octave higher than normal. She'd already removed her dress and was working on the laces of her corset when she looked up at him, "I want to swim, too."  
Her expression was so innocent that Kristoff doubted she knew what exactly she was doing. "Anna," he started carefully, "I'm naked. You know that, right?" She didn't answer him, only shimmied out of her corset and pulled her shift over her head. He was turned around again, hands over his eyes and head hung in surrender. Then he somehow ended up in the water, flailing his arms to keep upright without success.  
"Sven!" Anna laughed even more, deep enough that her chest was submerged and only the ends of her hair were wet. The reindeer had pushed him! Kristoff was furious now, shaking with anxiety and red from his hairline to his clavicle. “See if you get anymore carrots,” he spat acidically. Anna wasn’t helping, “oh, Sven, I’ll bring you carrots.”  
The next few seconds were a blur to her. Something wet and sticky hit her in the face and before she knew it, she was sitting up closer to the bank with Kristoff leaning over her, brushing her cheeks off and sputtering, “Oh god, Anna, I’m so sorry, I-I wasn’t thinking, I was just nervous and-”  
“What?” she raised her little hands to his, feeling over her face and pulling her fingers back to inspect them, “you threw mud at me?” The hurt in her eyes was enough to make Kristoff’s knees shake. “Y-Yes, but I didn’t mean to actually hit you! And not in the face, especially!” He was smoothing back her hair, inspecting her cheeks and nose, and Anna couldn’t be mad at him for it.  
“I’m okay,” she almost giggled, pushing his hands down. He sighed in relief and immediately backed away from her, returning to his side of the pond with his face still bright red. He’d only moved her so far out of the water that the tops of her little breasts showed, but he was still uncomfortable being so close to her in his current attire.  
He was rubbing one eye with the palm of his hand when Anna sent her own mud ball flying. It smacked into the side of his head, making him jerk sideways and barely keep a vertical position. He turned a playfully evil glare to her covering her mouth with both hands, standing maybe five feet away. When he leaned down to scoop up more mud, she flung her hands into the air and backed up as quickly as possible, “that was payback! You can’t pay back payback!”  
“Watch me,” he snarled, lunging at her and just managing to grab her by the waist. He smeared the wet dirt in her hair and down her face and neck, laughing as she yelped and wiggled, pushing away from him to the best of her limited ability. He let her go when he was good and satisfied with her new hairdo. “That looks really good on you,” he chuckled, brushing it away from her eyes. Her snappy comeback was peppered with squeaky giggles, “you’re a jerk!”  
A few minutes later, Kristoff was under the water again, but this time of his own free will. Anna was similarly washing the mud out of her hair a few strides away. They sat together afterwards, Kristoff still fidgety and sure to keep what he felt was a safe distance between them. Anna was so determined, though, and she would scoot closer to him whenever she thought he wouldn’t notice.  
And he didn’t, not until her arms were around his waist and she was giggling at something he’d said, her face nuzzled in his shoulder. Gently, he detached himself and moved away again, cheeks pink and eyes round. “Why do you do that?” she huffed, crossing her arms and scrunching up her nose in a way that was so very Anna that Kristoff couldn’t stop a quirky smile from forming on his lips. “I don’t think you understand what you’re doing,” he stated bluntly. She obviously wasn’t sated with that, scooting back over to him and grabbing his arm with more force than he’d thought her tiny fingers could manage, “I won’t touch you, then, okay? I just want to sit by you.”  
“You’re touching me right now,” he poked fun, earning a glare from her as she let go of his arm. Sven lay behind them on the bank, occasionally snorting a laugh or grunting in response to something one of them would say about him. Kristoff regarded him weakly, reaching to pull a carrot out of his bag without leaning too far out of the water. He shared it with Sven, to Anna's disgust, and only decided it was time for them to get out and dressed when she showed him her wrinkly fingers. “They look like raisins,” she giggled, putting them over her eyes upon his request.  
He dressed himself before holding a fur out for her, eyes squeezed shut as she took it from him and wrapped it around her small frame. It pooled at her feet and she had to lift it to walk around the pond to gather her discarded dress and underwear. “Uh.. Kristoff,” she cleared her throat embarrassedly, turning her back to him to reveal the lacing of her corset, “I can’t reach. Would you tie it up for me?”  
This girl is trying to kill me, Kristoff blinked, his legs moving without him realizing it, “okay..” He’d never done up a corset before, but it wasn’t that difficult for him to figure out that the laces go through the holes. “Tighter,” Anna instructed, and he yanked the ribbons carefully, rough hands catching on the stitching. Finally he’d managed to tie a sufficient not at the top of the fabric and help Anna pull her dress over her head.  
“Next time we go swimming, let’s have the right clothes for it, yeah?” he demanded more than suggested, shaking out his damp hair as she rebraided hers. “But I enjoyed not having to wear clothes,” she pouted, but he wouldn’t budge. In fact, he ignored her protest completely, pretending to be busy in rearranging some things in his sled. Anna gave Sven a sideways look, but the reindeer only shrugged.  
“I brought marshmallows,” Anna grinned. Kristoff glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled, moving a little further from the sled before kneeling down to make a smile pile of tinder from the carpet of twigs and needles. Anna had already collected branches for him when he looked up to ask for some. He nearly hit his head on one, she was standing so close.  
They sat on opposite sides once the fire was built, Kristoff leaning against Sven and whittling a small bit of wood into some shape that wasn’t quite identifiable yet. Anna was picking her teeth, having eaten most of the marshmallows before the flames were even ablaze. Now she shivered, getting as close to the heat as possible without catching her clothes on fire. “Not exactly a camping outfit, huh?” she laughed jokingly, but her teeth chattered and Kristoff tilted his head in concern.  
“Anna,” he whispered, gesturing for her to come sit next to him, “Come sit with Sven. He’s warm.” She did as instructed, but instead of Sven, she leaned up against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He could immediately tell why she was cold: her hair was still wet and there were dark clouds gathering in front of the fast-fading sun. He coughed awkwardly, patting her shoulder and avoiding looking at her at all.  
“You’re warm,” she mumbled, but before she could fall asleep, Kristoff stood in a rush. He rubbed his chin, staring at the ground next to her, “we should get you home. I don’t want your parents to worry.” Anna’s face drooped but she got up anyway, nodding at him and yawning with a stretch. “You’re right,” she admitted defeatedly, “but this is a thing now, okay?” Kristoff smiled and nodded, “okay.”

“Who did up your corset?” Gerda snorted disapprovingly, tugging the ribbons out of Anna’s girdle rather roughly, “It was one of the new maids, wasn’t it? Which one. You can tell me, lady.” Anna stood in her walk-in closet. It was about an hour after sunset and Gerda had come to tell her that her parents would be going on a trip to her cousin’s wedding, leaving late tomorrow morning. She’d caught the young princess laboriously pulling at the strings of her girdle and stood her up on a box so she could do it herself.  
“Oh, no, Gerda, it was-” Anna stopped, realizing how it would sound if she said she went for a naked dip with her new friend, who was a boy. She’d never hear the end of that, and now she realized why Kristoff was so uncomfortable with it in the first place. “I did it,” she confessed, “I wanted to try. A-And I did okay! Right? It held up!”  
Gerda gave her a scolding stare, “next time, let someone else do it. This could have fallen down at any moment! You completely missed all the holes, the back is not even together. The top knot is the only thing holding this in place!” Anna had to painfully bite her tongue to keep from going into a hysterical fit of laughter. She made a mental note to tell Kristoff that her maid did not approve of his corset-tying skills. She couldn’t blame him, of course, it was more than likely he’d never even seen a corset before then. Not a moment later, she had to lie again when Gerda asked, “why do you smell like dirt and wet animal?”  
“I was playing with the horses in the stables today and I spilled some of their water on me by accident,” Anna smiled sheepishly, earning yet another look of reprimandation. “Making messes for the stable hands, princess, is very improper conduct,” Gerda shook her head with a small huff.  
Improper conduct, Anna smirked, liking the name given to her defiant attitude, I wonder what you would call skinny dipping. “Sorry, Gerda,” she giggled lightly, but she wasn’t really sorry at all.


	3. Carrots, Ice, and Anna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the fact that you all noticed the rating (if you didn’t, please note it) and decided to read this anyway, let me just say that I promise you smut. XD I’m not going to melt your eyeballs, but there will be some sexual content in the later chapters. Not for a little bit, though. I’m building myself a cozy little cloud of Kristanna fluff first.

Kristoff didn’t have a lot to invest in, nor much to be proud of. His physical devotion was solely for ice harvesting, and the only mental investment he had was his friendship with Sven. His knowledge of family was limited and his social skills needed serious attention, but he understood “special moments.” Sharing carrots with Sven, for example, was something that he did not because they had to, but because it showed how close they were. He cared enough about the reindeer to share valuable food with him, even if they were in the middle of nowhere with nothing else to eat; which they had been, a couple times.  
Then there was being out on the ice under the velvet sky, when the colours of the northern lights reflected off the surface of the frozen lakes and saw blades. The cool air in his lungs made the hours worth it. Even in the frosty bite of winter, ice cutting was enough to make him sweat, but it felt good in his legs and shoulders. There was something about harvesting that put him at ease. Maybe it was that it was so real and definite. Ice was a solid force, and no matter how long the heat lasted, it came back year after year.  
So he did have a few things to take pride in.  
He thought of that while he was sitting with Anna on the docks, feet bare and dangling in the water. He felt similarly special around her as he did in those situations, and he had to admit, having her as a friend did make him proud. He was proud of her, more than anything, for putting up with him. She was stubborn and strong, and he admired that about her. He admired a lot of things about her.  
"Look, Kristoff!" Anna had mumbled around the braid she was chewing on. She was pointing out over the fjord at the setting sun, little legs kicking and spraying water around their ankles. "It looks like the inside of an egg, doesn't it?" It did, a little, but that didn't stop the burly teen from laughing. "You're so weird, Anna," he shook his head, pulling her braid out of her mouth.  
"What are we gonna do tomorrow, Kristoff?" Anna looked up at him innocently, setting her hand on top of his in a friendly gesture. "Well," Kristoff scratched the back of his neck, "I don't know. You ever been fishing? I could teach you to fish."  
"Ooh, yes!" Anna clapped happily and threw her arms and his bicep, nuzzling his shoulder. Kristoff chuckled, patting her on the head. "We should get you to bed, though," he sighed internally, looking up at the clear sky. Clear for now, anyway. He could feel as well as see the darker clouds gathering not too far off. He wanted her to be inside somewhere when it hit.  
"What about you?" she’d inquired, looking up at him with wide, concerned eyes. She wasn't a fool, she knew what rain clouds looked like, and she didn't want him in the middle of a storm anymore than he did her. But he shook his head dismissively, "I'll be fine. Sven and I have been through worse." Anna didn't seem satisfied with this answer. She stood and smoothed her dress out, propping her hands on her hips before declaring, "I'm not leaving you out here by yourself, Kristoff. Let me stay with you awhile."  
"Anna-" he stood with her.  
"Please?"  
She’d stuck her bottom lip out and dipped her head, blinking up at him through her bangs. “Damn it, Anna,” Kristoff had growled, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, “Okay, okay. Just for a little while, but I’m taking you home before the storm gets here.”  
Well, so much for before the storm, was all he could think now. It had begun to pour just as they reached his little camping sight, so now they were stuck until the rain let up. Anna didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, she looked pretty happy sitting in the back of his sled, soaked shoes on the ground beneath it and her dress hanging over the side to dry. He’d loaned her one of his smaller outfits, but she still had to roll the waist and bottoms of the pants up several times for them to fit her teeny frame.  
She was leaning her back against Sven, a fur wrapped around her shoulders as she watched Kristoff slosh through the mud looking for dry twigs they could maybe make a fire with. He’d already stretched another fur out farther around the tree, protecting some ground from the watery onslaught. It wasn’t exactly dry but it would do. “Kristoff,” Anna whispered when he was close enough, though he wasn’t sure why she was whispering. He looked up and she patted the spot next to her, “Sit down. We don’t need a fire.”  
Kristoff was reluctant. Her hair was still damp, her feet bare and curled up to her body, and he didn’t like the shiver that occasionally broke over her. After a moment of chewing on his lip, he nodded and braced his weight against the sled so he could slide his boots and socks off with his toes. Hauling himself up, he took another fur and wrapped it over her legs, making sure she was completely covered. “Are you warm enough?” he mumbled, easing down on the other side of Sven and putting his arm around the reindeer’s neck. He grunted softly, shifting his bulk to lean more into Kristoff while still supporting Anna.  
Anna giggled, “I’m just fine. Don’t worry so much.” Okay, maybe he was a bit worried, but he had a right to be so. “What about your parents?” he huffed, fussing with the strings on his shirt to try and keep himself busy. Anna giggled, “They’re out of town until the end of next week. I could stay here all night, if I wanted.” Her face lit up at the same time Kristoff’s gaze whipped over to meet her. Sven snorted in laughter at their expressions. They were almost exactly the same with one major difference: Kristoff was frowning and Anna had the biggest smile ever.  
“No,” he said, pointing at her. She pushed his hand down, leaning over Sven to press her nose to his, “Why not? I won’t be missed! Please, Kristoff, I don’t want to go home yet! I want to stay here with you!” She was making that face again. Lip pushed out, eyes wide, batting those damn eyelashes. He shook his head feebly, “Please don’t do that. Anna, you can’t stay here! What if you were missed? Someone would come looking and then I’d be in big trouble.”  
“Nobody’s home to miss me!” Anna whined, “Elsa never pays attention to me, she won’t even notice that I’m gone..” She slumped back down in the sled, arms crossed high over her little chest. Kristoff was going to ask who Elsa was, but he thought better of it. Instead, he relented, sighing heavily and taking one of the furs from her to pull over himself. “Fine,” he mumbled, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  
There was a scuffling, a snort from Sven, and then a weight dropped on top of him. Anna giggled in his ear, “Thank you.” He mumbled something under his breath, pulling the fur up more around his face and gently pushing her off of him. She moved back around the reindeer buck and settled in against his belly fur. It wasn’t her luxurious four-poster with fluffy pillows and silk sheets, but it was somehow better; warm and comfortable. And close, she liked close. Close to something living and breathing. Close to Kristoff.  
It soon grew chillier than either of them thought it would. Eventually, Anna was roused by her incessant shivering and Kristoff by her chattering teeth. “K-Kristoff,” she muttered, half raising her head, “Are there more b-blankets?” Her words were met with a soft grunt and large hands tucking more fur around her. "Just take mine," Kristoff murmured, laying heavily back down beside Sven.  
For a moment, Anna was sated enough to sleep again, but a frown pulled at her lips at the thought of Kristoff lying just on the other side of Sven, freezing. He always made sure she was taken care of and she wanted to do the same for him. Well, maybe freezing was a bit of an exaggeration. After all, he did live out here during the winter storms, and he probably worked in them, too. He was still human, though, and he most likely made use of the furs covering her now during those situations.  
Very quietly, Anna shuffled around Sven, nudging him with her toe so he would scoot over. And he did, after some hoarse-whispered explaining above the pitter-patter of the rain. Kristoff didn't think anything of the animals movement, laying with his back to Sven. His eyes fluttered when Anna draped both furs over them and she laid beside him. He didn't move, didn't utter a sound, and only breathed when she finally spoke: "Kristoff.. You're my best friend."  
Her little arms did their best to wrap around his waist as she nuzzled between his shoulder blades. This was much warmer than their previous arrangement, and closer, too. Kristoff glanced down at her hands on his belly and smiled in spite of himself. "And you're mine, Anna," he breathed just barely loud enough for her to hear over the water droplets above them and Sven's snoring.  
No, Kristoff didn't have too much to his name, but this was enough. This was so much more than enough.

Anna had been partially right. Elsa didn't notice she was missing until she decided to go check on her. Now, this wasn't something that she usually did, but since that day they talked Elsa had been wanting to spend more time with her little sister. When Anna wasn't in her room, she padded around everywhere she thought she would be. No luck, and Elsa began to panic. She fell asleep somewhere, she repeated to herself, she's perfectly fine. But after hours of worried searching, she began to doubt.  
She didn't tell anyone, afraid of upsetting the staff and causing unnecessary panic in the kingdom. If she's not back by tomorrow afternoon, I'll tell, Elsa promised herself, curling up in a chair that she'd propped by the front doors. Her head fell in her crossed arms after a short while, barely able to keep her eyes open as she stared out the window into the oblique rain.

Kristoff rolled over, awakened by the harsh rays of the sun through the tree’s leaves. He squinted one eye open, noticing that both Sven and Anna were missing. Having mistrusted people so long, his first thought was that she stole him, but that didn’t make any sense. What would Anna do with a reindeer? How would she get him away from here, anyway? Sven was by no means stupid, he could take care of himself. Kristoff grunted, about to sit up when something landed on him. “Good, you’re awake!” Anna chimed in his ear, nuzzling the side of his face. He blushed horribly, setting his hands on her waist and pushing her up so she wasn’t so close to him. “Hi,” he mumbled questioningly, “I thought you’d be gone by now. Where’s Sven?”  
A bray answered him and he raised his head to see his friend panting at the end of the sled. “I wanted to say goodbye, but you looked so peaceful that I couldn’t bring myself to wake you,” the redhead giggled on top of him, “By the way, you sort of talk in your sleep.”  
“I do?” Kristoff blinked, licking his lips nervously, “What did I say?” Anna leaned against his hands, pushing her small nose up against his big one, “Something about ‘my Anna’ That was all I could make out of it.” If he was red before, Kristoff was crimson now. He could feel the heat in his face and on his neck. To make it worse, Anna was still wearing his clothes. He didn’t have anything to say. There really was nothing he needed to say, he thought, though Anna didn’t seem to understand why he changed colours. “Are you okay?” she asked, tilting her head, “you look flustered. Something the matter?”  
“N-No, just..” he was suddenly very aware of her thigh pressed between his legs, “You should probably go home.” He sat up and pushed her unceremoniously off of him, to which she yelped and glared at him, hurt. He did is best to avoid her gaze, but she punched him in the arm and turned her back to him. Kristoff winced. “Anna,” he started apologetically, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shove you that hard. You make me nervous, okay?”  
“I make you nervous?” she seemed much more shocked than he expected her to be. Then again, she had said she was a shut in her entire life up until this point. Maybe she really couldn’t tell. And I thought I was bad at reading body language, Kristoff chuckled silently to himself. “Why in the world would I make you nervous? I’m not exactly threatening,” Anna turned and set her hands on his knees, causing him to gently brush them away and cross his legs. “It’s a different kind of nervous, Anna,” he muttered slowly, again refusing to meet her eyes with his own, and you threaten my sanity.  
After a moment, she giggled, “Oh, Kristoff, I like you, too.” She planted a light kiss on his cheek that made his eyes bug out of his head and his blood stop cold. He couldn’t move or breathe, let alone think, and he was only vaguely aware of her still talking, “I really should get back before breakfast, though. Gerda and Kai will notice if I’m not there to eat.” Kristoff nodded faintly, watching her wave and hop off his sled to jog back to Arendelle. Her dress was slung over her shoulder, her shoes on the wrong feet, and he could only smile. He looked at Sven after a moment, cheeks bright and eyes matching them, “Did that just happen?”

Anna wished the front doors wouldn’t creak so much. She noticed Elsa right away and she wondered what on earth she was doing sleeping in an armchair in front of the door. However, she wouldn’t have time to find out. She had to get upstairs and change, get rid of her dirty boots and dress, before anyone saw her.  
She had no trouble sneaking past Elsa, but her dress dragged the floor because she was hunched over in the typical tip-toeing pose. She stepped on the hem and tumbled forward with a yelp, making Elsa jolt awake and look around wildly. “Anna!” she exclaimed, hopping up and hugging her sister as she got up off the floor, “Where have you been? What are you wearing?” Anna’s face turned slightly pink as she explained that she got caught in the storm last night, “I had to beg Kristoff to let me stay with him, he wanted to bring me home right away-”  
“As he should have! Anna, what were you thinking? Didn’t you say he lives in a tent? You would have been better off coming home!” Elsa was shaking with worry and agitation, her hands balled into fists at her sides and brow knitted together in a glare. Frost began to sneak out in tendrils from her feet and a chill bit the air. Anna hid half her face in her sodden dress, tears beginning to leak from her eyes and roll down her now-puffy cheeks, “I’m sorry, Elsa.. I didn’t think you would notice.. You don’t usually..”  
Elsa was shocked and plenty guilty. That’s true, she cringed, I wouldn’t have known had I not decided to leave my room last night. “Anna, I’m sorry, but you still know better than to stay out all night. Especially with a boy.” Somehow that little detail hadn’t hit her until now. Anna was wearing his clothes. At least, she assumed they were his clothes. He must be huge, they sag on her even with them rolled and tied up like that.  
Elsa was momentarily distracted with her thoughts and Anna cleared her throat awkwardly to bring her back. “Are those kristoff’s clothes you have one?” Elsa pointed accusingly at the pants her little sister was barely wearing. Anna gave a tiny shrug, looking up at the high ceiling and shifting her feet, “Maybe.. But I had to wear something after my dress had been soaked. Kristoff said I’d freeze in wet clothing.”  
“I’ll bet he did,” Elsa narrowed her eyes in suspicion. The last thing she needed was some miscreant taking advantage of her sister’s naivety. Anna frowned, catching her deeper meaning, “It’s not like that, Elsa. He was just taking care of me. Kristoff would never do anything like that without my consent. I really, really had to beg him to let me stay with him last night.”  
“Did you at least sleep separately?”  
“Well, we slept on either side of Sven-”  
“Good.”  
“For the first half of the night..”  
Elsa blinked, then brought her hands up to rub her aching temples, “Anna,” she groaned, “Nevermind. Just don’t ever do that again, okay? Please? I was worried sick about you.” Anna nodded, hanging her head and looking up at her through her bangs. She turned to head up the stairs to change, and Elsa watched her silently.  
Elsa wasn’t a shut in, she chose to be alone most of the time, but she still wondered what it would be like to have a friend like Anna apparently had in Kristoff. So, before her sister reached the top of the stairs, she did as any curious, giggly, teenage girl would do: she whispered curiously, “Was he warm?”  
Anna smirked with her back still turned, “Yes, he was.”


	4. What is Love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled with Hans' character for a bit, because I was undecided if he's cruel by nature or nurture. But I think it's more of a nurture thing. I don't know, that's what I induced from his behavior in the movie. Growing up the youngest of 13 children would do that to you.

She should have expected this, really. As punishment for scaring her and staying out past curfew, Elsa had instructed Anna that she was not allowed to leave Arendelle's market for that day or the next. She'd also been assigned a guard to accompany her outside of the castle. She had little hope of seeing Kristoff, she hadn’t yesterday after she came home, which made her shoulders sag and her lip curve in a pout as she walked through the town.  
A combination of pleas and doe-eyed glances finally convinced her company to at least trail a bit behind. This way she could feel like she still had some say in what she did. She hadn’t come outside at all yesterday, too ashamed of having a babysitter that Elsa insisted wasn’t a babysitter to show her face.  
She was very glad the guard was hanging back when Hans approached her, all smiles and kind eyes. Gee, if he didn’t smell so strongly he’d be really attractive, she thought to herself, extending her hand in greeting. He took it gingerly and kissed her knuckles. All of her knuckles. The action didn’t necessarily make her uncomfortable, but she felt a nauseous flutter in her stomach and couldn’t help but think of Kristoff. She pulled her hand back gently but firmly, “Nice to see you again, Hans. It’s been days.”  
“Days much too long, in my opinion, lady,” Hans said silkily. So he was smooth, too. Not just his words, but his hands and his features; high cheekbones, a set jaw, perfectly combed hair, and lotioned hands. Hygiene was obviously very important to him and that might have been a positive to anyone else, but as she looked him over, Anna couldn’t help but replace his chiseled jaw with a much wider one; his hair became unkempt and his soft hands were now calloused and worked.  
“What do you do, Hans? Or, what do you want to do? For a career, I mean,” she asked absentmindedly, twirling the end of one of her braids around her fingers. Hans blinked and took her arm in his, sauntering through the market as casually as he could, “Why? It’s not like I really need to do anything.” Anna pursed her lips, tilting her head in thought. She didn’t either, but she still had dreams of riding wildly through snow in a reindeer-drawn sled with- No, wait, those are Kristoff’s dreams, she giggled out loud by accident, but I’d like to be there with him. She barely noticed that Hans had stopped walking, his face screwed up in a wondering expression, “What are you thinking of that would make you giggle at that?”  
“Oh, nothing, just-.. My friend. I was just noticing how different you are. You walk straighter than he does, but he’s a lot wider than you. Taller, too, with this unbelievably messy hair.” she looked up at Hans sweetly, but not because it was him. She always felt amiable when she talked about Kristoff, “And he likes work. lots of work. he’s an ice harvester.”  
“Sounds like Bjorgman,” Hans muttered stiffly, looking ahead instead of at her. “Who?” she cocked an eyebrow, beginning to walk again. Hans sighed, rubbing his face, “Bjorgman. big, burly sort of guy, blond hair. Always hanging around with that reindeer. We ran into him the day we met.”  
“Oh, Kristoff!”  
“You’re on a first name basis?”  
“Well, yeah,” Anna shrugged. She hadn’t known Kristoff’s last name and it never crossed her mind to ask. She couldn’t imagine why she would need to know it in the first place. “He’s my friend. We’ve been hanging out a lot, but I got in trouble yesterday because I stayed out all night with him, so I haven’t seen him since.” Hans grunted, removing Anna’s arm from his and clasping his hands behind his back, “Poor fellow. You really shouldn’t lead him on like that, Princess.”  
“Lead him on to what?”  
“Well, to believe that you may have feelings for him, of course.”  
If Anna had been looking, she would have seen the hurt anger hiding in his eyes. But she was too preoccupied with her own wonderment, “What kind of feelings? Maybe I do have them.” This irritated Hans beyond belief. He refused to believe that anyone, especially a princess, would enjoy Bjorgman’s company over his. Not that he and Anna had spent a lot of time together, but he still didn’t want to think that an orphaned brute was better than him. He’d known him since they were young and he always hated that people liked him better. “Oh, you don’t, trust me,” he shrugged, keeping his voice light and matter-of-fact, “You’d want to be around him constantly and the thought of him would make you blush.” I blush on the inside, Anna thought, a pink colour crawling up her face. “I think I might. I love being with him and he makes me feel safe and welcome.”  
“Oh, lady, you can’t possibly. He’s without title, think of your reputation! A princess and a homeless ice harvester?” Hans spoke just a little too attentively, “It’s not proper. Your parents would never allow it, and he’d only embarrass you at every event you attend.” Anna didn’t understand, or just didn’t care, as she spotted Sven while they walked past the icehouse. “Oh, wait!” she tapped Hans on the arm, hopping over to throw her arms around the reindeer’s neck. He looked equally happy to see her, haunches wiggling with his tail, tongue leaving spit all over her face.  
Both of them looked up as a deeper voice called, “Come on, Sven, we’re done he-” Kristoff paused in the middle of removing his gloves, blinking at Anna before it registered that she was actually there. “Hi,” she giggled, leaning on Sven. A quirky grin spread over the boy’s face. He threw his gloves in the sled parked by the icehouse and moved to stand in front of the redhead, “Hey. What are you doing here?”  
“Looking for Sven, of course. I missed him yesterday,” Anna giggled at the rolling of Kristoff’s eyes. “Yeah, he missed you, too,” he chuckled, pulling a carrot from his jacket pocket. Anna snatched it from him, “Can I do it?” She spoke as if he would object, but she knew he wouldn’t. He gestured to Sven and the buck stared at her with wide eyes, tongue lolling in a pant. When offered the carrot, he gave an excited little prance and bit more than half of it off. Anna's eyes widened and her head shook when he nudged it back towards her, "Oh, no thank you, I'm okay. You have it all."  
Hans observed quietly as Sven ate the rest of the treat, stem and all. His nose crinkled when Anna threw her little arms around Kristoff’s waist and nuzzled her forehead to his chest. The big kid turned red, patting her hair lightly and having to do a double-take when he glanced up to see Hans standing there with a very disapproving scowl. The son-of-a-duke licked his lips before clearing his throat, “Anna.” She didn’t even look at him, only held up two fingers as if to say “two more minutes.” Kristoff tittered nervously, easing out of her grasp and rubbing the back of his neck. “Anna,” Hans said firmer, “We are in public.”  
“So?” the girl bounced up on her toes to plant a kiss on Kristoff’s cheek, but he put his hand on her shoulder to prevent it. She gave him an inquisitive look, one that made his heart wince. “He’s right, Anna. You shouldn’t be, um.. Doing that in front of so many people.”  
“She shouldn’t be doing it at all,” Hans snorted, “What have you got to offer her? A pile of ice and a dim-witted cow.” Kristoff only rolled his eyes to the ice comment, but when Hans insulted Sven, he stood up straighter and glowered down at him. Before he could say anything, however, Anna gasped, “How mean of you! He didn’t mean that, Sven, no he didn’t.” She was rubbing her nose on the beast’s muzzle, cupping his chin with one hand and scratching his ear with the other. Kristoff could only smirk, “I think she likes the ‘dim-witted cow.’ Besides, I’m not offering her anything. Except friendship, which she forced out of me.” Anna gave him a playful glare, kicking his shin lightly.  
Her escort was suddenly visible again, coughing and standing at attention, “Miss Anna, your sister sends word that it is time for you to return home.” With a vexed sigh, Anna let go of the ice harvester and barely caught his confused, raised eyebrows out of the corner of her eye. She waved at both him and Hans, pausing at the guard’s side before walking off with him.  
Now that she was gone, Hans whipped an angry gaze on Kristoff, jabbing his finger at his chest and approaching him with short, infuriated strides. “Listen here, Bjorgman. She’s too good for you, and you know it. She’ll get looks, criticism, bullies. Is that what you want for her?”  
Though taller, Kristoff felt very small under Hans’ accusing words. He did know, though he hadn’t thought about it much. He hadn’t considered that she would look bad, probably because she didn’t seem to notice or care if she did, and he had ignored it for the enjoyment it brought him to finally have a friend who could talk back. But he cared, and he didn’t want that at all. How could he have been so selfish? Poor Anna. He opened his mouth to give a reply when Hans turned on his heel and threw back over his shoulder, “Break it off, before you embarrass her more than you already have.”

“He said what?” Elsa looked up from the book she was reading. She’d only been partially listening to Anna rant from the end of her bed, but she did manage to catch something about a guy named Hans, and Kristoff damaging her sister’s “reputation.” Anna threw her hands up, yelling at the bed canopy, “That I couldn’t have feelings for Kristoff because I had to think of my reputation! What does that even mean? He wouldn’t even explain what feelings! He said I don’t have them! How does he know?”  
“Who is this Hans guy, anyway?” Elsa set her tome down on her crossed legs, “I’ve never heard you talk about him before.” Anna waved her hand dismissively, “It doesn’t matter who he is, he’s wrong! Right? Kristoff’s not embarrassing, is he?” Elsa was silent for a moment, chewing on her lip. She knew where Hans was right and where he was wrong. She was positive that it looked strange for Anna to be spending so much time with an ice harvester, especially one who doesn’t live anywhere in particular. However, she could still have feelings for him and she could still be around him as much as she liked. Well, as much as Elsa permitted.  
She’d paused for too long, it seemed, as Anna’s eyes filled with salty tears. “Oh Anna, I don’t know,” she said quickly to mend her silence, “I haven’t met him. But it’s ridiculous to think that you have to be choosey about who you have feelings for. And if it’s against protocol, when I become queen, that’ll be the first thing to go.” Her sister looked delighted, “Elsa, you’d do that for me?”  
“Of course I would. I doubt I’ll marry, and one of us ought to. Who cares who he is now? It’s who he can become that matters.” She reached for the tea that sat on her night stand, watching Anna’s face twist in a variety of expressions. “I have two questions. First, who can he become?” she leaned closer to Elsa, eyes round and engrossed in what she had to say. It was plenty amusing.  
Elsa cleared her throat, “Well, from what you’ve told me, I’ve gathered that he’s rather reserved. At first, at least. He keeps to himself most of the time and doesn’t talk to a lot of people, yes?”  
“Yes.”  
“Yet he cares very much for this reindeer of his. And you, no doubt. I can see him becoming a very fine man. Someone to look up to, even. he has the potential to be a good leader, he seems the take-charge type, and he sounds gentle, so he could be very attentive to detail.” She stopped talking to think, smiling to herself at Anna’s bright-eyed grin. “In fact, I think I’d like to meet this Kristoff.”  
Her sister’s face went blank, “What?” She wrung her hands together and Elsa raised an eyebrow suspiciously, “I said I want to meet him. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Anna shook her head furiously, “No, no, it’s just.. You’d probably want me to invite him here, and.. I kind of forgot to mention to him that I’m a princess..”  
Elsa didn’t have anything to say. She wasn’t surprised that Anna hadn’t told him, but she was the slightest bit disappointed. “That’s not too big of a deal. He’ll have to find out sooner or later, might as well be on good terms.” Truthfully, the aspect of having another person in the castle terrified her to a minor degree. She wasn’t the best with people, but it didn’t sound like Kristoff was, either. It might be good for both of us, she bit her lip thoughtfully. “Invite him to stay a night.”  
“What about Sven? he can’t just leave him by himself.” Anna pointed out. That was true, he didn’t have a home to leave him at. Elsa shrugged, “He can bring him. What Mom and Dad don’t know won’t hurt them, right? It might make Kristoff a little more comfortable to have him here, anyway. And I kind of want to see what you meant when you said he talks for him.”  
Both girls giggled, Elsa with her hand ghosted in front of her mouth. This would be new and it was kind of exciting to think about. She was still a kid, after all, and there were times when she wanted a friend to play with. She was too afraid to, before, but now that she had been talking with Anna she felt confident about meeting another person. Just one. “You said he’s an ice harvester, right?” Anna nodded. “So, does he have a passion for his work?”  
“Oh, yeah, he loves his job, and he loves ice even more. Why?”  
“Oh. No reason,” Elsa smiled widely. Finally, somebody else. This was going to be just the ego boost she needed.


	5. The Sky's Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will soon learn the reason for this title. It's pretty cute and awe-inspiring, I promise.

Anna had said her sister invited him to stay a night at their place. Well, that cleared up who Elsa was, but Kristoff felt incredibly conflicted over it. He explained to Anna that they shouldn't be friends because he would only make her look bad, but she insisted she was her happiest around him.  
So now he stood stock-still as the gates of the castle swung open to Anna's wave. He didn't blink, nor did he move, and he and Sven had the same blank expression on their faces. The guards exchanged confused looks as Anna attempted to shove one of them through, but they barely budged. Kristoff breathed, "Princess Anna," and she huffed, blushing. "Yes, Princess Anna," she grumbled tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Well, now we definitely shouldn’t be friends, he thought.  
He finally stepped forward, Sven right on his heels. Their discomfort grew the closer they drew to the front door. Kristoff's knees began to shake and he stopped in the middle of the courtyard, leaning heavily on Sven. Anna hadn't realized how upset this would make him. His chest heaved shallowly and his eyes were red and strained. "Why didn't you say anything?" he squealed, clearly panicked. She hung her head, "I didn't think it mattered. I'm sorry, Kristoff."  
"Anna! We swam-" he leaned forward to whisper hoarsely at her, "We swam naked together! Somebody's gonna have my head!" Her wrist flicked as if that were insignificant. She didn't say anything until she'd coaxed him to the door, where she stated firmly, "They wouldn't dare. Besides, nobody has to know that. I won't tell, and I doubt Sven would."  
At the mention of his name, the reindeer snapped his head up from where he hid his face on Kristoff's side. Anna really didn't have anything else to say, turning and knocking thrice on the door. Kai opened it, eyebrows raised at the redheaded princess, immediately noticing the poor, trembling boy and his reindeer buck behind her. He was about to comment when Elsa nearly shoved him over, "Kai, I said I would get it! I invited them, it's fine. Shu! Sorry about.. That.." Her words trailed off as her eyes travelled up from Kristoff's big feet. He was taller than she'd anticipated, and she'd had high expectations. She was also vaguely surprised by Sven, even though she expected him, too.  
"You were going to answer the door?" Anna was almost laughing, but she bit her tongue when Elsa slipped halfway behind the wood. She mumbled something under her breath but it wasn't audible; she stared at Kristoff as if she had never seen another person before and he was staring right back, unsure whether to bow or run away. Anna put her hands on her hips, "Honestly, Elsa, he won't bite you. Nor will she bite you, mister," she poked Kristoff in the gut, but he didn't move.  
Sven was the first to break their awkward silent contest, sniffing Elsa's feet and causing her to jump. At her movement, Kristoff turned his attention to his pet and pulled him back by his halter, "Sorry! I'm sorry, your princess- I mean, lady- I mean-! A-Anna said it was okay to bring him, I don't have a house to leave him at!"  
"No, it's fine! Just call me Elsa, please." Elsa waved her hands, "I told her it was okay. I invited you, remember? I wanted to meet my sister's little-.. Uh, big... Friend. I'm just not use to people." They shared a nervous laugh as Kristoff admitted that he wasn't either, and that he didn't know Anna was a princess until a couple of minutes ago. Elsa glared at her for that.  
"Well, come on!" Anna bounced past her sister, grabbing Sven's antler and pulling him after her. The reindeer seemed much more relaxed, now, but Kristoff had a difficult time of setting his foot over the threshold. Elsa extended a shaky hand to him, to Anna's delight, and he stared at the frost that formed around his fingers when he took it. He was tugged in firmly so he now looked up and around at the tapestries and decor with big, round eyes.  
Sven nudged him, "You look stupid. Close your mouth." Elsa nearly buckled over laughing and Anna just looked happy that Kristoff was comfortable enough to talk for his friend. Kristoff himself, however, turned a deep shade of red and curled his hands into fists. He didn't look mad but scared, watching Elsa with a wary expression.  
"Anna said the reindeer could talk, but I didn't believe her," Elsa wiped her eyes, feeling looser now. He didn't share her calm, shoulders hunched and jaw clenched so the veins on his neck stood out. Elsa was trying to think of something to say when Anna stood up on tip toe and laid the softest kiss she'd ever witnessed on his cheek. His reaction was slow, but drastic: his eyes closed and his chest expanded in a deep breath, his face still red but less bright. It was just about the cutest thing to see this big kid become a walking hug under Anna's very simple encouragement.  
After she was convinced he was calm (he was staring at Anna with an embarrassed yet grateful expression), Elsa cleared her throat, "I wasn't sure what you like to eat but Anna said you and the reindeer have a thing for carrots, so I had the cooks make some kind of soup or something."  
"What?" Kristoff blinked, "For me? Really?" He looked astonished and Elsa stood straighter, prouder. She had a small smile on her face. Anna sniffed the air, hoping dinner would be ready soon. Elsa obviously guessed this, as she chuckled and said, "It'll just be a few minutes now. Oh, um.. Kristoff.. I hope you don't think you're not qualified to be here-"  
"I'm not."  
"Well, I think you are. The way Anna talks of you, you seem like a wonderful person. Anyone who can keep Anna that happy even when they're not around deserves more than the company of princesses." The young ice harvester didn't know what to say. His mouth opened and closed but no words came out, and he eventually just grinned. "Thank you, your- uh, Elsa. That.. Means a lot to me.." he glanced at Anna with a small smile. She seemed to be losing her patience, “Can we eat now? I’m starving!”

The cooks looked up as the four entered the kitchen. The head chef paled at the sight of Sven, but he didn’t say anything since he was with the princesses. “We were just about to call you down,” he laughed nervously, gesturing to a round table much smaller than what Kristoff expected them to sit at. “We don’t need to eat in the dining hall if there’s only four of us,” Anna explained, “There’s way too much space, and Elsa thought you’d be more comfortable in here because it smells like dirt and potatoes.”  
“Anna!” Elsa flushed, glaring at her sister. Kristoff only laughed, “It’s okay, I’m just pleasantly surprised that you thought of me.”  
They sat quietly, Sven on the floor behind Kristoff with his own bowl of stew. Kristoff would occasionally turn and scold him for slurping so loudly but Elsa would wave her hand and say that he was just fine. “So,” she said after a moment, stirring her spoon in her soup nervously, “I know you don’t, uh.. Live anywhere in particular.. But Anna never mentioned anything about your parents. Where are they?” She immediately regretted asking when the big kid flinched, rubbing the back of his neck and staring into his stew. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, “I don’t remember the last time I saw them. But it’s okay! I haven’t been alone, I’ve had Sven!” The last part was added hastily to soothe the sisters’ obvious distress. It didn’t work.  
“So, um..” Kristoff cleared his throat, “Let’s change the subject, please. Anna, what do you do when I’m not around?” Elsa listened distractedly to Anna complain about how she had nothing to do all day and she was so bored all the time. She had a thought that maybe Kristoff would think was funny, but she wasn’t sure how or when to say it. Too much time had passed for it to be the answer to his previous question, but he presented her with the perfect opportunity when he asked, “You’re sure there’s absolutely nothing to entertain you?”  
Smirking, Elsa whispered under her breath so only Kristoff would hear her, “My dick.” Before Anna could ramble again, the young ice harvester turned in his chair to stare at Elsa with raised eyebrows, “Sorry, what?” She giggled, “You heard me.”  
“I wasn’t aware you, uh..”  
“Oh, yeah. Eight inches.”  
“Uh-huh.. Well, that’s… Impressive..”  
“Wanna compare?” Elsa had an amused blush working over her cheeks and Kristoff shook his head as his eyes widened. He quickly coughed, “No, no, I’m good.” He was glad that she was getting comfortable, however. Anna didn’t seem to understand what just happened. She suddenly appeared between their chairs, her head just above the table as if she’d crawled under it. “What are you guys talking about?” she peeped, tugging on Kristoff’s sleeve, “What’s eight inches?”  
“Nothing, Anna,” Kristoff murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He smiled kindly and the redhead grinned back, her cheeks turning pink and and her own hand moving up to clasp his to her cheek. Elsa leaned around her sister so she could see what was going on and smirked lightly. Kristoff stared at Anna as she very slightly turned her head to kiss his palm, barely noticing Elsa giggle at the blush that stained his face.  
“Hey, Elsa,” Anna looked back over her shoulder, “You wanna build a snowman?”  
Suddenly, Kristoff was being ushered down the long corridor to the ballroom, Elsa pulling him from the front and Anna pushing from behind; Sven had been left for Kai to look after. He looked out all the windows they passed, rambling in confusion, “With what snow? There’s none outside. Do you guys have like a personal stash or something?” He blinked when Elsa giggled, “Or something!” She seemed the most excited about whatever it was they were doing. This had been what she waited all night for, to finally share her secret with someone who could potentially be as captivated by it as she herself was. Her heart pounded louder than the heavy doors she heaved opened and she almost couldn’t wait to run to the center of the room and give the ice harvester the shock of his life.  
Anna grabbed Elsa’s hands and spun in a single circle with her before looking back at Kristoff, “You like ice, right?”  
“Anna, ice is my life,” the big kid answered. Elsa’s eyes lit up even more, which he had previously thought impossible. He was suddenly just as psyched as she was to see whatever they had to show him. “Are you ready?” Elsa hopped, her hands held together in front of her with small bits of frost beginning to form over her fingers. The other two nodded and she released a small flurry of snowflakes into the air that began to fall lazily without end. The ground froze over with a press of her toes and piles of snow grew at the flick of her wrist. All of the curtains in the room were closed, so the little light provided by the chandelier candles served to make it all glow a warm, baby blue.  
Kristoff’s eyes were as big as dinner plates and as shiny as the ice around him. Anna was already on her back in the snow, making snow angels and laughing like a mad man. “Do you like it?” Elsa whispered behind him. He turned on her, looking down at a small crystal of ice in her hands. “Like it?” he mumbled, taking the offered shard and staring at her, “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Elsa.. I have lived. I, have lived.” She could tell he meant it by the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. She reached up to clear them a little harder than she maybe should have, she jabbed him in the eye by accident. He didn't mind, though, only waved it off and laughed while rubbing it with his palm.  
Anna had already started rolling a big ball of snow before she called, "Hey! Do I have to build him by myself?" She was met with big arms around her waist and the feeling of snow suddenly enveloping her. "Kristoff!" the princess squealed, wiggling out of his grasp. Elsa was laughing doubled over the mound of snow she'd collected. It looked so funny to see Anna's little legs kick so hard in protest as her big friend toppled both of them over. This was so silly to Kristoff, that they were acting so unlike their age. Then again, he'd never had a real childhood with friends to do this with. And from the sound of it, neither did Anna or Elsa. One night of fuckery can't hurt, he chuckled to himself, sitting up and barely listening to Anna scold him.  
Elsa was half finished with the snowman by now, sculpting a head to put on him with her pink tongue stuck out from between her lips in deep concentration. She stood back to admire her work as Anna added a carrot nose and twig arms that Kristoff thought she had pulled out of nowhere, but she'd really brought the carrot and broke the twigs off a tree right next to one of the windows. "Now he just needs a name," she declared, hands on her hips. The snowman had a big head and buck teeth, and Kristoff thought it was the best he'd ever seen. "Kristoff?" Anna prodded him, "Any ideas?"  
"His name is Olaf." They both turned to look at Elsa, who blushed under their questioning gaze. "H-His name is Olaf, and.. He likes warm hugs," she shrugged in an attempt to break their attention from her. Anna grinned and clapped, "That's cute, Elsa!"  
After a while, Anna had the brilliant idea to sculpt a marvelous throne of ice, and Elsa took full advantage of the situation to ease her sister’s doubts of her friendship with Kristoff. She could see her facial expressions blink throughout the few hours they’d been in here playing. It was obvious to her that Anna still wasn’t sure if she felt anything more for him, and was probably suppressing any feelings because she didn’t think that she could.  
Besides, Elsa liked Kristoff. He was exactly as Anna described him: gentle despite his size, goofy, kind, and smart. He put others before himself while still thinking of his own well being. She’d decided he was a good friend to have and a good asset to keep around, so while Anna prepared a snow throne for her sister to freeze over, Elsa shaped her own little something to present as a surprise for both Anna and Kristoff. She couldn’t wait to see the looks on their faces.  
“Elsa!” Anna giggled, “It’s done!” She was hanging on Kristoff’s arm, hopping up and down in excitement and earning a warm smile from him. Elsa held her frozen craft behind her back, pressing two fingers to Anna’s snow throne and freezing it over to solid ice. It must have been meant for her because Anna gestured for her to sit, but she shook her head and looked at Kristoff with a very wide grin. “I don’t know what Anna’s told you,” she began, standing up straighter and using her official voice, “But there have been claims that you are not worthy of a princess’s friendship. I think that’s ridiculous but, if I may, I’d like to ease your tension of it. Yes, I know you think it, too.”  
Kristoff blinked, glancing at Anna as if he thought she put her sister up to this, but she looked just as surprised and curious as he felt. “Elsa, you don’t have to do that. I know you don’t believe it, but I really am a nobody. Ask anyone, I-I’m the town embarrassment!”  
“Sit,” Elsa commanded, completely ignoring him. He grumbled under his breath but did as he was told, watching her raise herself up on tiptoe and hold a flawless crown of ice above his head. It had a full circle and had four spires that formed a square with smaller ones in between. “Elsa, what-”  
“Sh. Kristoff-.. What’s your last name?”  
“Bjorgman..”  
“Kristoff Bjorgman, I hereby dub thee Royal Ice Master and Deliverer,” the elder princess smirked at Anna’s expression as she set the crown on his tousled hair. After a moment, she added, “In training.” The big kid stared at her through his bangs. He’d leaned forward for her to be able to reach and now just blinked in astonishment. Nobody said anything for what seemed like forever until finally Kristoff sat back up and chuckled, “That’s not a thing.” Elsa huffed at him, “Well, not yet. You won’t be official until I’m crowned queen. That’s why you’re “in training,’ duh.” He was about to protest again when Anna threw her arms around his neck and planted several kisses on his cheek. Elsa would swear she watched him grow a shade redder with each one. “Thank you, Elsa,” he mumbled, smiling widely and brushing his fingers through Anna’s red hair. “Of course. You’re my friend, too, now. I will have no friend of mine harassed for his birth.”  
Kristoff caught a faint, purple and red green glow on the ice beside the window and watched it for a second before gently pushing Anna away and jogging over to throw the curtains back. “The sky’s awake,” he breathed, turning to watch the colours reflect off of the frozen ground before him. They ribboned and danced around the sisters, who were staring at their feet in wonder. This was more beautiful than anytime Kristoff had seen the lights do this on the frozen lakes.  
Anna shuffled close to him, nudging his arm and smiling with her head tilted very cutely. He stared at her for a moment, taking in the lights in her eyes and the shine of her hair; the curve of her soft lips. They looked soft, anyway. Kristoff had never had a serious kiss, but he was sixteen. He knew about that kind of thing from the older ice harvesters, who liked to daydream of their women around the fire when on week-long trips. He hadn't ever thought about doing it himself, but right now, Anna was all that he wanted. Anna's lips on his and Anna's little arms around his neck, to feel the curve of Anna's body against his own and Anna's sweet, warm breath on his face, Anna, Anna, Anna..  
He didn't realize he'd brought her so close. Lost in his thoughts, his arm had wrapped around her thin waist and his hand cupped her cheek. Both of them were breathing shallowly and he could see her eyes flutter when his lips brushed hers, but never fully touched. She had her own racing mind, heart skipping when her chest pressed up against Kristoff's. I've never kissed, this is going to be so embarrassing, his nose is in my eye, don't say anything, you'll ruin it, this is perfect, he's perfect..  
And then her face was nuzzled to his neck and he held her so tight yet carefully that she was comfortable enough to fall asleep right there. She was admittedly a bit disappointed that he hadn't kissed her, but she could feel him trembling with anxiety. She was scared, too, so she didn't blame him. That moment had proved that he cared for her the same way she cared for him, and she couldn't help but grin at that. I do have feelings for him, she squeezed her eyes shut with a very happy smile.  
Elsa hadn't seen them almost kiss. She was too preoccupied with her ice. She'd always loved her magic because it made everything lovely, but this surpassed it all. The light display and Kristoff's eyes as he stared at her with admiration filled her with self confidence and pride. She turned to see he and Anna clinging to each other but he still gave Elsa a warm, friendly small. His eyes were tearing up again.  
The big ice harvester had to crouch to hug Anna to his neck, and her little feet swung carelessly back and forth as he picked her up with the hug. It looked so awkward that it was laughable.  
We're misfits, Elsa grinned, but we're a band of misfits. Right then, she was happier than she ever remembered being.

Elsa was shaken awake by Gerda, who was hoarsely whispering, "Princess Elsa! There is snow inside!"  
"I know, Gerda, it's okay. We were playing," she grumbled back. One eye squinted open to see her hand in Anna's and Anna in Kristoff's arms. His icecrown was crooked but still on his head, his face nuzzled to the back of her snoring sister's neck. She smiled faintly through a yawn as Gerda scolded her, "How are we suppose to clean this up? It'll melt, sure, but then what? There's just a bunch of water everywhere! Honestly, ma'am, you should really think before you make a mess."  
Well, Elsa apologized a few hundred times and promised that she would take care of it herself, but of course Gerda wouldn't allow that, saying "I'd like to keep my job" and "of all magic, it had to be snow."  
So the sun rose high, and she eventually had to wake Anna and Kristoff from their adorable slumber. But all that breakfast, as they ate silently with smiles, the sky was awake.


	6. Just Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for this chapter mainly because I really wanted to see Kristoff beat the shit out of Hans. XD There, I said it. And it contradicts what he said to Anna about Kristoff embarrassing her, since she'll just want to do everything Hans doesn't want her to do now. Also, I was gonna make you wait for their kiss until chapter 8, but not even I can wait that long. XD

Anna reached a shaky hand up to cup her cheek. The market was completely silent, everyone staring at the son-of-a-duke in front of her. Did he just strike her? It certainly felt like it, her face stung enough. She guessed that she kind of brought it on herself with all that gloating. Hans had wanted to outbid Kristoff for the new lute he knew the ice harvester wanted, and Anna refused to allow it. She'd pulled the princess card, scolding the shopkeeper for not standing by his word to hold the instrument for her friend.

Hans only made her angrier by telling her horrible rumors about Kristoff, like that he did things with Sven she didn't want to think about, and his parents abandoned him because he murdered his baby sister. "I never even had a baby sister!" Kristoff's voice had cracked, and not from hormones. He was prominently shaking, hands clenched so hard his knuckles were white and eyes red, brimming with tears. Everyone had already stopped to stare even before Anna had called Hans that very dirty word.

That was when she felt it first: cold fingers hard against her cheek and nails scraping her enough to bruise. She was dazed, clutching the lute to her chest with one hand and tenderly holding her face with the other. Elsa was suddenly there, too, having seen the slap from her bedroom window. Anna didn't even have time to register Elsa's hiss or Han's words of, "How dare you, you little whore, no wonder you've always been alone," before Kristoff had him on the cobble beneath him.

It was the saddest and scariest Anna had ever seen the big kid.

Her friend's face was flooded with hot, salty tears but he still looked frighteningly elated at Hans' pleas for help as his head was pounded into the ground again, and again, and again.. Elsa was first to react, tugging as hard as she could at Kristoff's shoulders and even as he wrenched free over and over he was careful not to hurt her. He only hates Hans, Anna realized, he's conscious of what he's doing.

"Kristoff!" her little voice shrieked and she ran to help Elsa pull him off. With Anna's added desperation, he relinquished his onslaught, but only once Hans was unconscious. Kristoff's hands and face were splattered with crimson blood and to Anna's terrified expression, he thought, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. It sure felt good though. "Anna.." he started, reaching out to her but retracting his hand quickly. He would not touch that pretty face with blood on his hands, he would not dare hold her after what he'd just done. Hans was still visibly breathing, but what if he wasn't? Would I care? Probably not.. I'm a monster.

Passing patrons now stared at him with either horror or disgust. Even though Hans had just slapped their princess, even though Anna made it very clear that she was more concerned about him, they still viewed him as filth. And so he was. He began to tremble violently, backing up and gently nudging Anna away from him. "Kristoff-" Elsa started, but he turned and ran. Feet pounding hard on the rough cobble, tears blinding as he stumbled into carts and other people, Kristoff ran like he had wanted to do for so long. Past the outskirts of Arendelle, past the camp with Sven and his sled, his legs carried him on without him knowing where they were headed.

Sven raised his head at the sound, but he didn't follow. He wasn't entirely sure if who he'd just seen was Kristoff or not. The reindeer cantered swiftly down towards the market looking for somebody to explain to him what just happened. He nearly ran over Anna and Elsa, who were running almost as fast as Kristoff had been. "Sven!" Anna cried, "Where's Kristoff? Where'd he go?"

"Anna, calm down, please," Elsa panted heavily. She wondered briefly how her sister still had so much energy. Anna turned on her, "Calm down? Elsa, did you see his eyes? He's hurting! And now he's missing! I have to find him, I need him and he needs me!"

"Then go. I'll wait here and.. Keep Sven calm.." And he looked like he needed it. Anna nodded and gestured to a break in the trees, "Their camps right through there." As she took off again, she threw back over her shoulder, "I'll be back soon!"

"Anna!" Elsa stopped her for a brief moment, "Find how your faces fit."

 

I will not be back soon, Anna shivered, glancing up at the low sun. She had run out of breath about ten minutes ago and thankfully passed a wagon of ice harvesters running back a batch. "Excuse me!" she waved, smiling nervously as they halted their horse, "I'm looking for a friend of mine. He's about this tall-" she had to jump "-with crazy, blonde hair. And a reindeer? Though the reindeer wasn't with him. I'm afraid he's upset and lost. Do you know him?"

All of them nodded, immediately recognizing the reindeer bit. "Bjorgman," the driver chuckled, "Good, strong kid." One of them chortled, "In muscle and odor," and the rest boomed with laughter. Anna laughed dryly, "Yeah, that's him.. Do you know where he is?"

"If he's upset, like you said, he normally disappears to the Valley of Living Rock. it's just up ahead aways, left where the trail turns right. You'll find it."

"Thank you," Anna briefly curtsied and zipped off up the path, ignoring the mens' joking, "Bjorgman's got himself a little girlfriend."

 

Kristoff didn't stop running until he was in the solid arms of several little rock trolls, sobbing and stuttering out an explanation as to why he was distraught. They lead him to where his adoptive mother, Bulda, was sitting with Grand Pabbie. Both of them turned to look at his short gasps for air.

Bulda took one look at her baby and shooed everyone else away, cupping his face in her small hands and cooing softly, "You're alright now, Momma's here, baby, tell me what happened?"

"H-Hans-" Kristoff sputtered, "I-.. Momma, I-.." He held his bloodied, shaking hands up to show her and her eyes widened. His family knew about Hans and how he bullied Kristoff, but they always encouraged him not to engage him. He was afraid she'd be angry, but Bulda only wiped a tear from his face and smiled, "It's okay.. You were angry. Sometimes we make bad choices when we're angry."

"But Momma, you didn't see Anna's face! She was terrified! Of me!"

"Anna? Princess Anna? What were you doing with the princess?"

Kristoff sighed heavily and recounted the past week or so that he'd spent with the rambunctious redhead. Bulda's smile grew with each memory he described, "Oh, Kristoff, you were protecting her. She'll understand." He didn't seem so sure.

Bulda helped him out of his clothes and into a warm, shallow spring about four feet deep. He leaned his head back on the surrounding rock, sighing heavily and enjoying Bulda's fingers fussing with his messy hair. He felt better now, but still guilty. Anna had looked so scared and it was because of him. He didn't want her to be scared of him, he wanted her to feel safe, so safe, and loved. Love? Do I love her? She does make me feel whole..

He didn't have time to reflect, lifting his head to see a group of trolls usher into the spring clearing a very confused, flustered Anna. His adoptive mother grinned in pleasant surprise, "See, baby, I told you she'd understand!" She bowed low to Anna, who was staring at Kristoff for an explanation. His mind didn't seem to want to function at the moment, hands fidgeting under the water and eyes angled down like a guilty, little kid. Eventually, he coughed, "They're my family.. This is Bulda, my mother."

"Your family? Wait, tell me later. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Why did you run?" Anna's voice was demanding but soft, choked like she was about to cry. Kristoff winced, shaking his head. He had no answer.

Bulda slipped off quietly after giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, but it only spiked his anxiety. He was once again left alone, naked, with the princess of Arendelle. Which seemed to happen a lot, oddly enough, but she didn't seem phased by it. "Are you okay?" she repeated, calmer this time, "Elsa and I, we-.. We tried to follow you but we couldn't keep up."

"Anna.." Kristoff swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "I'm so sorry.. I shouldn't have done that, I-.. I-I should've been more controlled, but-.. He hit you.." His voice cracked on the last three words and Anna thought it was the most heartwarming thing she'd ever been told. Instead of answering, she pulled her dress over her head and smirked faintly at his widening eyes and flushed cheeks. She was sure of her feelings for him now, not bothering to turn around as she unlaced her corset and dropped it at her feet. Now all that was left was a thin, cotton shift.

Kristoff watched until her girdle hit the dirt, then he snapped his eyes shut and bowed his head, trembling all over. He cursed her giggle and her soft, whispered, "Kristoff," refusing to open his eyes. But it was Anna and Anna was always so determined. "Kristoff," she spoke a little louder this time and he knew she wanted him to look up, look at her.

So he did, very slowly peeling his eyelids open until he was staring at her naked form. Her shift had been discarded. His frightened, captivated gaze trailed slowly up from her dainty toes, which were just about the cutest thing he'd ever seen. His feet were huge, so Anna's little ones were strangely adorable to him. His breath caught at the tuft of copper hair between her thighs, which he unsuccessfully tried to skip over, and by the time his gaze mounded her small, perky breasts he felt dizzy.

"Kristoff," Anna breathed and her little chest rose and fell with her voice. All he managed in response was a choked grunt as he crossed his legs in embarrassment. She giggled and slid clumsily into the small spring with him, kneeling in the shallow water and crawling over to sit next to him. "Anna, please," he managed, now rigid in all kinds of ways and holding his hands up to stop her. She could see his fingers shake, so she sat back on her knees and took one of his hands in both of hers. "It's alright," she soothed, voice honey sweet, "I'm here. You're safe. I won't ever let anything happen to you."

That was so strange to hear because it was all Kristoff had wanted to say to her since the day they met. I'm here now, you're safe, I won't let anything happen to you. "Anna," he murmured, intertwining his fingers with hers. His guard dropped and she scooted closer until she was practically in his lap, sitting betwixt his knees and cradling his hand to her chest. He pressed back against the rock to try and keep a little distance between them, but Anna wouldn't allow it. She sat down on his lap and squeaked when she felt him, giggling as he blushed from his hairline to his chest, "Sorry- Anna, you- What-" He fumbled to get a full, coherent sentence out, "We can't do this, Anna, you're a princess and I'm just an ice harvester. I'm just Kristoff!" She was warm, so warm on his thighs and groin, warmer than the water they sat in. He was having a bit of a mental breakdown.

"Shh," Anna leaned forward to touch her nose to his, "You're my best friend, Kristoff."

"A-And you're mine, Anna.."

"You are not nor will you ever be 'just' anything to me. Except maybe 'just' everything. I love-.. The way I feel around you. You make me really, really happy, and.." she breathed sweetly in his face, pressing even closer to him and shivering as she felt the inevitable pressed between their lower bellies, "Only you could ever, ever make me feel this good."

Kristoff gulped. They were very close, breath mingled in the humid air, her chest pressed to his, were her arms around his neck? Oh, no, was all he could think before his mind was wiped clean by her soft lips. It was awkward at first, both of them adjusting so her small lips aligned with his bigger ones, so his nose wasn't in her eye. Finally, Anna held his head still and tipped her face ever so slightly..

There. Perfect. She smiled lightly behind the kiss, feeling his shaky hands rub goosebumps over her back. His head was in turmoil, fighting with himself about what they were doing and how they were doing it. I'm a dead man, he squealed internally, no, you're fine, it's fine, how is this fine? But she felt so soft on his hardened body that he couldn't deny he was loving this.

They had to pull away to breathe and Anna trailed her sparky kisses along Kristoff's jaw and part way down his neck. His head was leaned back for her, and he panted shallowly. Only when she sunk down and unintentionally (to his knowledge) rubbed her folds against his hardening member was he reminded that they were nude.

"Anna-" he wiggled out from underneath her, scrambling back out of the spring and turning his back to her. She squeaked when he moved, pouting even though he couldn't see. "Do you feel better?" she mumbled, standing up and wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. Kristoff blinked, looking down at her little hands that barely touched around his belly. He was trembling, half hard, confused, and disoriented, but inspite of his nerves, he smiled, "Yes. I do. Thank you."

"Of course," Anna planted a kiss between his shoulder blades that made him hum contently, silently cursing the little curving smirk he felt on her mouth. "We should get dressed," she mumbled and he turned around in her grasp, cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand. "Maybe in a little bit," he breathed before leaning down to press chapped lips firmly to hers. The greatest sound he'd ever heard came from her then: a tiny, muffled moan. He decided he liked that and wanted to hear more of it, but that could wait. Right now, he was just content with Anna.

"My Anna," he mumbled against her lips, "My precious Anna." She gave a single nod, wrapping her arms around his neck with one tangled in his messy hair. "Your Anna," she concurred, "Always was and always will be.. your Anna."

 

"He'll like this, right?" Elsa held up the new lute Anna had won for Kristoff. She was sitting on the back of a sled with Sven, feeding him carrots to keep him calm. Her own little touch had been added to the instrument in her lap, in the form of intricate frost patterns along the sides and neck. Sven snorted in what she took as agreement, holding the end of a carrot out for her. She stared at him, confused for a moment before she remembered that Anna said he shared carrots with Kristoff. "Oh, I thought she meant bunches, not that you eat each others'," Elsa whined, taking the salivated carrot between two fingers and holding it away. Sven blinked at her, seemingly pouting. Finally, she sighed, "Only if it will make you feel better.." and to his nod, she took a very reluctant, little bite. Her only thought was, please be back soon, Anna.

Thankfully, she heard voices from the path and recognized Kristoff's bulky frame. He was carrying Anna, who had her head leaned on his shoulder sleepily. The ends of her hair were wet, but Elsa ignored it for now. She was just glad to see them. "Kristoff!" she waved as he approached the sled, earning a warm smile, "You feel better, Ice Master?"

"Again, that's not a thing," Kristoff rolled his eyes but chuckled, earning a light smack on the chest from the ginger in his arms. "Not yet, it's not," her voice was heavy with drowsiness.


	7. Fixer Upper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a pretty feelsy chapter. It ended up being a crossover, but since it's the only one, I don't feel the need to change categories. There's going to be fluff, too, but you might still cry.. I cried writing it.. Imagine “When Somebody Loved Me” playing in the background..

Elsa was feeling lonely again. She knew she could go out with Anna and Kristoff and they would gladly except her, they offered enough, but her parents had been due back for a couple of days now. Father had been helping her learn to control her powers. Conceal it, don't feel it, he'd say, don't let it show. Well, she'd recently been doing the exact opposite of that. It was fun, sure, but what if it set her back in her progress? What if she couldn't conceal it anymore because she hadn't been practicing? She'd been anxious for them to come home.

A knock made her turn away from the window and the setting sun. Kai stepped halfway through the door looking very confused. "Princess Elsa," he began slowly, eyebrows knitted together, "Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene have just arrived at the docks." Both of them shared a daunted look before Elsa nodded and followed him out. It had been Cousin Rapunzel's wedding that Mama and Papa were headed to, so if they were there, then the king and queen of Arendelle mustn't be far behind.. Right?

Rapunzel and her newlywed were already standing in the entrance hall with Gerda when Elsa appeared at the top of the stairs. She'd never met her cousin before and Eugene was even less familiar, but Elsa put on a smile. She stood straight and proper, despite wanting to curl into herself and disappear. She wished for bubbly Anna to be by her side to greet them, even Kristoff's awkward presence would have been comforting at this point.

"Princess Rapunzel, Prince Eugene," Elsa cleared her throat, "As heir to the throne and overseer in the king and queen's absence, I humbly welcome you to Arendelle." The pair looked up at her with matching sad eyes and weak smiles. Something about that made Elsa's heart twitch, but she carried on strongly, "I trust you've had a tiresome journey. Please, do make yourselves comfortable. Kai and Gerda will carry your bags to your temporary quarters and I will send word for Princess Anna to return."

"Elsa," Rapunzel's soft voice floated up to her. She tucked a strand of brunette hair behind her ear and cast her gaze to the floor, "We're here as your family. And we bring news that really needs to be addressed. Is there somewhere private we could talk?" The lack of formality caused Elsa to drop her guard. Of course, Rapunzel wasn't raised as a princess, so it only made sense that her vocabulary would be a mix of common and royal. It reminded her a little bit of her sister.

They retreated into the king's study, where Rapunzel proceeded to throw her arms around her cousin and weep softly. Elsa stiffened, uncertain how to react do to her years of almost total isolation. She slowly patted the brunette's back, looking up to Eugene for an explanation. "We felt we needed to come. We thought it might-" his breath caught for a moment. Is he going to cry, too? "We thought it might be easier if we told you ourselves." It wasn't the news that made the young couple tear up, it was having to deliver it to Elsa. Eugene's lithe frame leaned forward as he extended his hand, "I'm Prince Eugene of Corona, and.. I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."

Then Elsa knew. Without him having to say it she knew, and her fingers trembled fervently as they clasped around his hand. Putting two and two together, her eyes brimmed dangerously until she couldn't see and she gulped for air like something was stuck in her throat. "Theyre-.. Th-They're not coming back, are they?" she squeaked.

There was suddenly a bang and Kai yelling at little feet that pattered up the stairs, followed shortly by clunkier steps. "Where's Elsa?" she heard Anna's voice call, and then the answered, "In the study, but-"

"Thank you!"

"Anna, wait, something's wrong," even Rapunzel looked up at the gruff voice outside the door. Elsa sighed gratefully to Kristoff's intuition as Anna creaked the door open with a braced expression. Kristoff ducked very quickly behind the door at the sight of new people. On a normal day, Elsa would have encouraged him out, but she completely ignored it due to the situation at hand.

"Anna.." she croaked, reaching an arm out to her. She was suddenly aware that she had been gripping Rapunzel rather tightly. "Anna, the king and queen-.. Our parents.. Mama and Papa didn't.."

"What?" With all the excitement in the past two weeks, Anna hadn't realized that they should've been home by now. She was too busy planning on how to explain Kristoff to think about dates. The younger princess looked over Eugene and their cousin hanging around Elsa's neck then, recognizing Rapunzel from the pictures their aunt and uncle sent just after she was found.

“Wha-.. Where’s Mom and Dad?” Anna’s little voice quivered and Kristoff was suddenly visible again, hand gently squeezing her shoulder. Nobody said anything as she digested the situation, stumbling back a step into Kristoff’s protective embrace. “Anna?” he whispered, glancing up at Elsa with wide, teary eyes. “They’re gone, Kristoff..” Elsa’s blue eyes watered, “They’re gone..”

The next hour or so was filled with lots of tears, gusts of chilly wind and snowflakes. Kristoff had begun to cry himself when Elsa retreated to her room and locked everyone out. Anna beat her fists on the door so hard that they bled, screaming and pleading, “Let me in, Elsa, don’t shut me out! Please, don’t leave me alone!” Rapunzel and Eugene followed silently to the kitchen after Kristoff gathered poor Anna in his arms. She was near limp, still shaking with sobs but breathless with exhaustion. All the fight was gone, and that bothered him most.

“You’re okay, Anna,” he whimpered, sitting her on a chair and taking her bloodied hands in his, “I’ve got you.. You’re not alone, I p-promise.” She looked up at him with a sudden realization, squeezing his hands back and trembling a little less violently. “You won’t leave me, will you?”

“Of course not.”

“You’ll stay? Please stay, Kristoff.. I know you have Sven, but please stay.. I need you.”

Her voice quivered as if in emphasis, but he wouldn’t have left her anyway. Sven was alright for one night. With a single nod, he lifted her to her feet and leaned her on his shoulder, crouching so she could reach. He glanced at Rapunzel and Eugene with pink cheeks and mumbled, “I’ll just put her to bed,” before scooting past them and helping Anna up the stairs.

After he’d washed her hands off and helped her change (much to his discomfort and embarrassment), it took some convincing to get her to let him go. She finally seemed contented to allow him to leave only when she had fallen asleep, instructing him that he was to stay in the room across from hers so she could find him if need be. Before he settled down, however, Kristoff crept as quickly as a big kid can creep down the stairs to let the guests know what was going on.

Rapunzel retired for the night after his explanation, politely asking Kai to show her where she and her husband would be sleeping. Her eyes were still puffy, and Eugene had a bit of red around his lids as well. “Well, that was a fun introduction,” he commented in his usually playful way, but it lacked conviction and never reached his expression, “My name is Eugene, by the way.” He held his hand out but Kristoff didn’t notice, staring at his feet with his mouth half open, panting shallowly. “Kristoff..” he murmured after a moment, “My name is Kristoff.”

“You’re friends with the princesses, huh?”

“Yes. I’m the..” he paused and chuckled half-heartedly,” Elsa named me the royal Ice Master and Deliverer.” Eugene looked perplexed, “That can’t be a thing.”

“That’s what I said, but she insists that I’ll be official once she’s queen.”

“I guess that day might come sooner than expected,” they both winced at Eugene’s words, Kristoff sniffling and wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. “Did you see her face?”

“Sorry?”

“Anna.. Did you see her eyes? It was like she was.. Dead..” the words were harder to get out than Kristoff imagined. “She did look pretty upset,” Eugene pushed his fingers back through his hair. He looked Kristoff up and down, not critically but curiously. They had to be the same height and the kid was definitely wider than him, but you could still tell he was so young by how awkwardly his limbs fit together. His arms just a bit too long and feet just a bit too big, not to mention that unruly hair and childlike complexion.

At the moment, however, he looked as grown up as ever. He slouched, dark circles under his eyes and arms shaking as he propped himself back against the kitchen table. He seemed to carry so much weight on his shoulders, much more than a kid his age should. “You really care for her, don’t you?” Eugene asked softly. Kristoff’s whole appearance right now reminded him of his own love-struck self when he thought he’d never see Rapunzel again. All he got in reply was a nod as Kristoff swallowed the lump in his throat.

They brooded in silence for what seemed like hours before Kristoff finally spoke again. “All I can do is be here for her,” he dropped his head, “I’m no good for anything else. I can’t buy her nice things or take her to fancy places. I’m too clumsy to dance with her at any balls, and I wouldn’t be welcome even if I could dance. I’m nobody and she’s..”

“Everything you’ve ever wanted,” Eugene finished for him, smiling lightly as Kristoff looked up at him with a furrowed brow. “I felt the same way. I was a thief when Rapunzel and I met, and she showed me a brighter side to everything I thought I knew. She tipped the world, and even though I was nothing to everyone else, including me, I wanted so badly to be something for her.”

“Tipped the world..” Kristoff murmured, his lips twitching up in the slightest, “That’s a good way to put it. But how can I be something for her? What do I be if I can’t be what she deserves?”

“You be whatever makes her happy, Kristoff.”

 

Sleeping in the castle was harder than Kristoff imagined. Having so much space to do what he wanted with was unnatural, as was lying on a mattress without lumps or furs or a fat, fluffy reindeer. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep, anyway, so he contented himself with wandering around the hallways. He kept one hand on the right wall so he wouldn’t get lost, but it was still hard to tell where he had or hadn’t been before. he thought about leaving a few times, but the hurt in Anna’s eyes when she thought Elsa abandoned her kept him from doing so. You promised her, he reminded himself, that she’d never be alone.

When he reached a frosted door, he stopped and stared at it for several minutes. He could hear small sniffles and feet shuffling back and forth across carpet. “Elsa?” he tried, stepping up to the ice and setting his hand on it delicately. The noises silenced and, “Yes?” came the whispered reply. Forehead leaned on the frozen wood, Kristoff closed his eyes and sighed, starting when the door was suddenly pulled open. “Kristoff?” Elsa looked up at him, face still stained with water that had frosted once it touched her pale cheeks.

Neither of them said anything else as Kristoff took Elsa in his arms. Not with the same affection as he did Anna, but just as lovingly, and she graciously accepted with her face buried against his shoulder. They didn’t have to speak what they both already knew, but after a few seconds, she did anyway: “Thank you.. I needed a friend..”

“I know.. So did I.”

“Anna needs you more than I do, though.”

“I know that, too.”

“Then why aren’t you with her?”

Kristoff sighed and let go of Elsa, rubbing his arms and looking off to the side of them. He briefly glanced at her before squeezing his eyes shut and mumbling, “I’m just having a little war with myself about.. My feelings for her..” Elsa nodded in understanding, “You don’t think you can give her what she needs.” He nodded and she touched her hand gently to his arm, “But you can, Kristoff. All Anna’s ever needed or wanted was love.”

They sat in silence like that, Kristoff eyeing Elsa warily. He cleared his throat but his voice still trembled when he asked, "How do I know if I love her?" Elsa regarded him with a soft smile, stepping back into her chilly room with one hand on the door. "Love," she whispered, "Is when we see an imperfect person perfectly."

 

Eugene wandered up and down the hall outside of his shared bedchamber. Unlike Kristoff, he was used to sleeping in a castle, but tonight he felt restless. Walking past the kitchen, he heard hoarse whispers and stopped, leaning his ear against the door. He had to stifle a chuckle at what he heard:

“I’m sorry, I got hungry.”

“Why did you have to wake me up?”

“Because I was lonely.”

“I thought you said you were hungry,” this voice was obviously amused and Eugene could just see the smile playing on whoever’s lips. There came a little whine and a sniffle, “I woke up and nobody was there and I wanted you to be there but I also wanted chocolate so I decided to tell you I was hungry and that I couldn’t reach what I wanted so I could be with you.”

“Anna,” the first voice softened. So that must be Kristoff, then. “You could’ve just said so.”

“What are you two doing?” Eugene decided to interject, pushing the door open and leaning on the wooden frame. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but the actual sight was much funnier. Anna sat on Kristoff’s lap, mouth encircled by melted chocolate. The young ice harvester looked panicked that someone would see him like that with the princess, naked except for his underwear and hair even messier than it usually was.

Anna, however, was much cheerier than she had been; still not too cheery, but better, “Oh! Uh, hi, Eugene! We were just, um.. Well, see I-..” her lip quivered and she tucked her arms around Kristoff’s neck (he blushed wildly), “I wanted his company.. And chocolate..”

“I heard,” Eugene did his very best to play the disapproving elder, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Relax, Kristoff,” he snickered, “You’ll pop a blood vessel.” The teen stared at him and sputtered, clearly unsure where to put his hands at the moment or if he should move Anna off of him. He probably would have if he hadn’t been afraid of offending her. “Oh, I-I just- Sorry, I mean- Sh-She’s persistent, I-.. I can’t say no to her!”

Anna giggled, ignoring Eugene for a moment and sliding her hand over Kristoff’s shoulder to press it to his chest in her best impression of flirtatious. She was about to say something, but the big kid cut her off, grabbing her wrist bruising tight and hissing, “Stop it, Anna, this is not the time.” Her face went from giggly sweet to helplessly broken in a matter of seconds. He hadn’t meant to be so stern with her and he immediately regretted it, but Anna didn’t see. She shoved off his lap and shot him a hurt glare, pushing past Eugene to walk quickly back to her room. Kristoff’s whole posture dropped, “Anna, wait-”

“Go after her.”

“Huh?” he looked up at Eugene in confusion. “You heard me,” he folded his arms, “Go after her. I know it’s weird, you feel like you can’t show her affection in front of other people, but remember what I said. Be what makes her happy.” He left then and Kristoff dropped his head into his hands, pulling on his bangs with his eyes squeezed shut. After a moment of deep breathing, he stood up and practically ran to Anna’s door, knocking quietly and bouncing on his heels.

No answer.

“Anna?” he called, “I’m sorry, Anna. I didn’t mean to sound like I was rejecting you. I-I was nervous and..” He had to swallow hard to continue, but his confidence was boosted by little feet approaching the door, “You probably don’t understand, but it’s difficult to guess who I can be affectionate towards you around. I don’t want to embarrass you, a-and I definitely don’t want to give people the wrong idea about us!”

“What’s the wrong idea?” Anna sounded angry and upset. Kristoff paused, “Well, you know that we’re.. I-I mean, that you and I are.. Together, you know.”

“Are you saying we’re not?”

“Well.. No? I don’t know, I-..It just might be wrong to some people, you know? You being a princess and all..”

Suddenly the door was very forcefully yanked open and Anna stood heaving in front of him, face covered in tears and her nose running. “Kristoff Bjorgman,” she sniffled, “I ignore that you’re homeless, talk to a reindeer, smell worse than said reindeer does, and that you can’t piss anywhere but the woods. Yet you can’t ignore the fact that I’m a princess?” He didn’t know what to say. Put like that, it did sound a little unfair, but, “That’s different!”

“How? You weren’t born any of those ways, you can change your life! I can’t! I can’t help that I’m a princess or that I’m loud and obnoxious, but I love every way that others say you’re flawed! Why can’t you do that for me?” She was shaking, hands clenched into fists at her side and face flushed deep crimson. She didn’t make any effort to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks, nor did she break angry eye contact with the cowering puppy above her. “But Anna,” he whimpered, “I do.”

She didn’t move, so he went on, “I don’t think you’re obnoxious. Loud, maybe, but that’s just because you have so much personality and I love that. A-And I love your hair and the way your eyes light up when you get an idea, no matter how ridiculous.” Anna gave him a faint smile, “You do?” To his nod, she bit her lip, turning pink and looking down at her feet, “But you still care that I’m a princess.”

“Well, I probably won’t ever be able to get over that. At least not in public. But I can try, if you want me to.” Kristoff tensed when Anna took his hand, tugging on him lightly to pull him into her room and shut the door. As she wrapped her arms around his waist, she stood up on her toes to nuzzle his cheek and whisper, “So we’re not together?” She could feel him stutter as he breathed and she hid her smirk against his neck, making him shiver with her soft breath. “I mean,” he mumbled, “We could be.. If you want..”

“Do you want to be?”

“Yes.. Yes, Anna, I do.”

“Then we are. I’m yours, Kristoff. Your Anna, remember?” He pulled back to look down at her, eyes travelling over her face until they rested on her soft smile. “My Anna,” he repeated, tucking his arm around her tiny waist, “My..” To finish, he smashed their lips together, one hand cupping the side of her face and grunting at the muffled squeak she gave. He was only vaguely aware of her steering them towards the bed and he didn’t realize how close they’d gotten until her thigh pressed up between his legs.

“Woah, hey,” he pinned her shoulders gently to the mattress, gulping at the sultry look she gave him, “Calm down there, feistypants.” She giggled and ran her fingers slowly up his arms, to which he shivered. “You’re telling me to calm down?” her voice was a whisper as she again pressed her thigh to his ‘problem.’ Kristoff rolled his eyes, pushing up from her so they were no longer connected down there and mumbling, “I don’t have a say in that.”

“But I do,” Anna slid her hand down his chest to cup him lightly through his underwear. He jumped, giving a small, soft yelp and rolling off of her with a frightened expression. “Oh, n-no you don’t,” he stuttered, but he had to remind himself that this was Anna he was dealing with. She clearly wasn’t giving up, climbing over him to straddle his lap and roll her hips carefully. She barely touched him, but he still reacted strongly, slamming his head back against the wall by accident. She stopped to cover her mouth, giggling as he rubbed his head with a sour expression. “Sorry,” she managed through her laughter.

“Sure you are,” Kristoff glared at her playfully, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “Let’s just take it easy, okay? You’re going to give me a heart attack.” He chuckled at her pout and leaned forward to kiss her again, which she accepted as an apology. She understood what he meant, though, feeling his heart thump against her hands that were rested on his chest. Her own blood was boiling, too. “Kristoff,” she murmured on his lips, earning a small hum in acknowledgment, “I love you.”

Kristoff’s mind fuzzed and he pulled slowly back to look at her, his own voice sounding muffled to his ear as he whispered, “What?”


	8. Two Left Feet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad that you guys are still liking this (me blushing over here)! I'm not sure how far to take it, though. XD There isn't exactly a story. I was thinking about making it into one, however. I have a couple different ideas and a couple different directions..

Anna really wanted him to go. She spent weeks talking it up, saying how it would be the best party he ever experienced and that he’d grow to love balls and galas and such. Of course, his main concern at the time had been clothes. There was no way he was going to wear any tight-fitting trousers or stiff-collared button ups, but Elsa eventually settled him on loose pants and a slightly nicer version of the blue shirt he normally wore. As the event drew nearer, however, Kristoff began to worry about how he'd look. More specifically, how he'd make Anna look.

All the reassurance he'd ever been given in his short life was outmatched by the rambunctious redhead's soft kisses, but even those weren't enough to convince him of his worth to her. He worried that she'd regret ever meeting him when she learned of the rumors. Rumors that she was desperate for intimacy, rumors that she'd lost her mind from isolation, rumors that Kristoff was blackmailing her because there was just simply no way Anna would have indulged him otherwise.

His other concern was of embarrassing her with his dancing skills, or rather lack thereof. Kristoff was willing to bet his sled that he was the worst dancer in Arendelle. Upon voicing this thought, Elsa had sworn that he didn't have to dance if he didn't want to, but that only made him nervous to disappoint Anna. He didn't think that by not dancing with Anna, he was letting other people dance with her. Specifically prince people.

Kristoff would have gladly made a fool of himself if it meant he didn't have to watch his Anna twirling in the arms of proper suitors. The whole night was torture for him. He glared at the young men desperately trying to make her laugh, and sneered when they succeeded. After several hours of standing alone, catching apologetic, empathetic glances from Elsa and listening to snobs whisper not-so-secretly about his rugged appearance ("Isn't that the homeless orphan Princess Anna drags around?" "Look what he's wearing, I bet he had to steal that and it's barely decent."), Kristoff exited the ballroom on shaky knees. His head was spinning, it was way too hot, and he thought he might throw up his stress.

"Where do you think you're going?" Anna slammed the door open and ran down the hall to catch up with him. She was irritated that he'd leave her like that without even saying goodbye. Kristoff, however, just looked miserable in return. "Please let me leave, Anna," he begged, trembling with his frayed nerves, "Don't make me stay. I can't watch you dance with them and I can't stand by myself in a huge crowd full of people who don't like me. Please, I just want to go home." After a silent moment, Anna nodded and watched stiffly as he trudged away. She knew it was her fault he was upset, she'd been so preoccupied with her want for him to be there that she hadn't considered how it would make him feel.

The rest of the night, she was determined to make it up to him, even if he didn't know it. She took up her place by Elsa, either one of them beside the throne, and searched left hands for silver or gold bands when asked to dance. If none were present, she politely declined, "I'm spoken for, but thank you." Elsa didn't bother to ask why her sister suddenly seemed so reserved. She immediately noticed Kristoff's absence and guessed that he thought himself undeserving of Anna next to so much royalty, so Anna naturally had to prove him wrong. For every event following, it went on like that. Anna only danced with married or engaged men to ensure that it was purely for fun, and eventually Elsa felt it was time Kristoff knew.

 

"You know she's telling people that she's spoken for, right?"

"Spoken for?" Kristoff looked up from bathing Sven to blink as Elsa took another bite of her apple. She was wearing a blue sundress that came down to her knees, her bare feet dangling in the creek Kristoff was standing in. He was shirtless, completely soaked, sudsy, and bent over Sven with a brush he borrowed from the royal stables. He was going to need his own bath after this, the buck was so rowdy and playful.

Elsa's eyes glinted with amusement as he asked, "Does she say by who?"

"Not unless asked, but I think the locals have figured it out."

She couldn't help but laugh at his quirky grin, taking another bite of apple and smirking at his noticeably lifted spirit. He eventually gave up on Sven, allowing him to rinse himself by rolling around in the clear water. "So, I have to ask," the ice princess rested her chin in the palm of her hand, "A couple weeks back, I overheard Gerda say that Anna came home late smelling like wet animal and that her corset was entirely messed up. Do you know what that was about?" Kristoff paled, staring at her round eyed and slack jawed with absolutely no escape plan. "Uuh.." he swallowed, "Look, I didn't mean for it to happen, and before you assume the worst, no, we didn't-.. I didn't, um.. Sh-She's still pure.. But I was taking a bath and she showed up and just threw her clothes off! She said she wanted to swim! I was terrified, I can tell you that, especially when I found out she was a princess. But I didn't see anything the first time, and neither did she! At least, she said she didn't."

"The first time?" Elsa was both furious and hysterical. Yes, it was her little sister, but Kristoff looked so embarrassed and scared that she was having a hard time keeping a straight face. That, and she believed that they hadn't done anything. He was mortified now, "W-Well, yes, remember the other day when I beat up Hans? Something kind of similar happened.. And she made me look! I just can't tell her no! She instigated it, both times!"

The sad part was that Elsa believed him. Anna could be very persuasive, and she could just imagine the lump of putty she might resort poor, awkward Kristoff to being. "It's okay, I believe you," she chuckled, biting her lip. Kristoff sat heavily on the bank beside her and pushed his fingers back through his hair, “I just know she’s going to get me into so much trouble one of these days.” Damn Anna for her imperious attitude, bless Anna for her soft skin and plush lips and perfect, perky-

“Kristoff?” Elsa snapped her fingers in front of his face. Apparently he’d zoned one minute too long for her. That, and she probably noticed the blush rising in his cheeks, despite the fact that all his blood had begun to pool between his legs. He coughed awkwardly and brushed her hand away, "Sorry. She's distracting even when she's not around."

"She says the same thing about you," Elsa tittered, nudging his arm, "I like you two together. My sister and my best friend, stupidly in love." Her head dropped onto his shoulder and he stared down at her coy smile. "Nobody said we're in love.." he mumbled, "And I'm your best friend?" Elsa nodded rapidly, "You and Anna are the only friends I have, so yes. Plus, you like my ice."

Wish a brandish of her hand, the creek began to freeze and both her and Kristoff lifted their feet from the chilled water. He beamed at her like an excited toddler, setting his feet delicately on the solid surface. Sven wasn't so lucky. All four of his hooves were now encased in ice up to his calves, and he grunted helplessly to Kristoff and Elsa. She covered her mouth with her hands, turning bright pink with guilt, "Oh, Sven, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to get you stuck!"

Kristoff was laughing pretty hard, getting up and shaking his head. "It's okay, Buddy," he patted Sven's muzzle then turned to Elsa, "Just thaw it." His face dropped in realization when she looked up at him and pouted. "You don't know how, do you?" Her head shook but he shrugged it off, "That's alright, I'll cut him out. Wait here and keep him calm while I get my stuff."

He returned shortly with a big saw, a pick axe and something that looked like an oversized fishing hook. He'd also found time to put his shirt back on. Elsa watched silently as Kristoff began tracing lines in the ice with the hook. She fed Sven a carrot or two, sharing one with him to Kristoff's surprise, and nodded internally in approval of her sister's choice in men. Even in this awkward stage of development, Kristoff's body was very nicely sculpted with work. This wasn't the first time Elsa had noticed, but it was the first time she had seen it in use. Every push and pull of the saw had his back muscles flexed, his biceps strained to hold the pick axe steady as he chipped at the ice around Sven's hooves, his abs and thighs were beautifully stressed as he hauled Sven from the hole he'd created.

It was clear to her that he was going to be very attractive in his adult years.

 

Anna was bounding all over Elsa's room. It was late in the evening and Elsa had said she could borrow one of her more flashy dresses for her big plan tonight. She said she wanted to teach Kristoff how to dance so that he could dance with her on her upcoming birthday, but Elsa heard: "I want a reason to look sexy so Kristoff will cover me in kisses." It was no secret to her that Anna yearned for the ice harvester's touch. She talked about it quite often and Elsa even indulged her in hearing her more intimate dreams of him. Of course they were all fairly innocent; his fingers in her hair, their lips parted in a deeper kiss than Kristoff usually allowed.

To say that Elsa was grateful for Kristoff's reservation would have been a disgusting understatement. She had been elated to hear that he kept things simple between him and Anna, because this way she didn't have to be the grounding force to Anna's spirits. She could encourage their relationship instead of berating it. Anna didn't seem to grasp that her sister was practically giving her blessing for them to marry, which Elsa decided would eventually happen. She was too preoccupied with the amazing fact that she never had to be alone again. Kristoff would always make time to see her, whenever she asked, even if it was ridiculously late for her to be out.

Tonight, for example, when she stood under the rising moon in a tight, purple dress with sequence that glittered when she walked. The slit on the side was high enough for her freckled thigh to play peek-a-boo with his imagination, and the sweetheart bodice held her little breasts up in offering to him. "Why did you walk here in that?" he asked flatly. "I want to teach you to dance," she giggled in reply. Kristoff's lip twitched.

He couldn't remember what he'd been doing just a moment ago. All he knew was that Anna looked stunning, breath taking, too gorgeous to really be standing there in front of him. He was almost too mesmerized to catch her when she tripped on the hem of the beautiful dress, which momentarily disrupted the magic of the situation. But after he'd set her back on her feet, and she assured him that she was alright, Kristoff couldn't move again.

"I want to dance with you on my birthday next week, so I figured I'd better teach you how," Anna tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nervously chewed her bottom lip. Kristoff blinked a few times before taking a deep breath, "Oh, Anna, I'll step on ten of your little toes." He looked down at her feet, which just barely poked out from her skirts.

"Eleven," he heard her say, so he corrected himself. "Eleven. Wait, what?"

"I'm kidding, I have ten toes," she laughed at his bewildered expression, taking his hand in hers. His breath caught in his throat and he almost choked when she pressed up against him. She positioned his hand on her waist and set hers daintily on his shoulder, then laid her head on his chest and smirked at his frantic heartbeat. Directions might have been easier than her pulling him along in the steps, but Kristoff eventually learned where to put his feet and at what time. Anna joked that he did step on her toes, but only nine of them.

"You aren't as bad as you think," Anna looked up at him for the first time since they started the lesson, "My right pinky's still in tact." His focus had shifted from her to their dancing, but now that they'd stopped he was breathless again. Both of them stared at the other with deep admiration, Kristoff at Anna for her overwhelming beauty and boisterous spirit, and Anna at Kristoff for his genuine character and rugged allure. Her words hung between them with a different meaning. You aren't as bad as you think, either, Kristoff smiled.

It seemed to take forever for her to grip the collar of his shirt and pull her face up to his. He met her halfway, their lips pressed in soft greeting of one another. It started out innocently enough, but so had every kiss before this one. Again it was Anna pushing for more, running her tongue along his bottom lip, begging for him to allow her in this time. For a moment he considered it and, to her squeaky delight, let his mouth fall open to her. She responded ardently, tangling her fingers into the hair on the nape of his neck and wrestling for dominance of their joint lips. Her hip nudged him toward the sled and he hoisted her up into the back without breaking them apart, keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground to support his shaking knees.

Anna hooked one leg boldly around Kristoff's waist, forcing him to lean over her as she lay back. He dislodged the kiss in surprise only to be beckoned down again by her sensually whispered, "Please.." His lips travelled from the corner of her mouth out along her jaw to play on her ear. This would be the second time he'd heard her moan, but this one wasn't muffled and he greeted it with his own growl of satisfaction.

Anna arched her head back when his teeth grazed her neck, something he didn't expect; for her to enjoy nibbles. He was busy kissing every freckle on the exposed top of her chest when he felt more than heard her say, "I love you, Kristoff."

She'd said it a few times since that first night, always when they were sharing a sweet moment, but he couldn't say it back. Not that he didn't want to, he did, and as he lay his head on her chest now, he tried. The words never made it to his lips, always getting stuck at the back of his throat so that all that came out was an oddly warped, breathless whimper. At which Anna giggled and ran her fingers through his hair. She wished he'd say it back, but she understood that he was scared, whether he admitted to it or not.

"I should get you home," he mumbled. In answer, Anna carefully wiggled out from underneath him and moved back to curl up with a sleeping Sven. Kristoff chuckled, crawling up next to her and tugging on her dress, "You should at least change out of this."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she cracked open one eye, smiling playfully at his blush. But she did agree, sitting up to carefully remove the dress and hang it safely off the ground from the tree. Just before stowing her corset along side it,she explained to Kristoff how to properly tie up the back. Flushed with embarrassment, he offered her his shirt but she refused, insisting that her shift would be more than enough because sleeping with him was like cuddling a fireplace.

They settled back against Sven in a reversed sort of way, Kristoff's head on Anna's chest as she combed her fingers lovingly through his blond locks. The rhythm of her heart quickly lulled him to sleep with her arm protectively wrapped around his broad shoulders. She followed soon after, the curve of her lips perfectly matching his content smile.


	9. Giggly Girls and Pantyhose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! The awkward fun chapter is here! XD This is purely to make you laugh and/or giggle stupidly.

Since the introduction of Kristoff, Elsa was becoming more and more comfortable around people. She even seemed to enjoy exchanging in small talk with the castle guards or servants, and though she still spent copious amounts of time in her room, it was common to see her wandering the halls with a book in her hand either just after breakfast or right before dinner. Anna often wondered what kind of books would be so intriguing that her sister barely put them down. She once caught a faint, pink tinge on her cheeks and for a moment thought of what she'd read in the ice harvesters' journal the day she met Kristoff. No, Elsa wouldn't read that stuff.. Right?

The more time they spent together, the more Anna realized she knew next to nothing about the kind of person Elsa really was. She’d learned subtle things, like that she loves chocolate, and that her power made her very happy, and that her favourite colour was blue, but she knew almost nothing else. Admittedly, she was more than a little curious, and she would poke her older sister with nonchalant questions about things she liked or didn’t like. But Elsa always gave the vaguest answers so they never got anywhere. One day, Anna decided she was going to conduct a little experiment to get under Elsa’s skin.

She found her in the library curled up in her favourite, checkered armchair with the book she’d been reading for the past week or so. “Hey, Elsa?” Anna slunk through the cracked door, smiling at her sister’s raised eyebrows when she looked over the brim of her blue reading glasses, “I have a kind of strange question for you. I didn’t know who else to go to, I’m sure it would be inappropriate to ask the maids something like this..” Elsa didn’t say anything. She carefully tagged the corner of her page and set the book down on the side table, her glasses coming to rest on top of it. Then she wiggled around in her seat and folded her hands in her lap, smiling at Anna expectantly.

The younger redhead practically floated to the couch across from her, resting her feet up on the table in a non-princessy way, but Elsa didn’t give any sign that she cared besides a small, patient huff. After a moment of suspenseful silence, Elsa sighed in amusement, “You can talk to me, Anna, I won’t judge you.” Anna suddenly exploded, not expecting even pretending to want to know this stuff to be so embarrassing, “Well, see, I’ve been feeling guilty lately because Kristoff always puts me before himself and I’m always too caught up in my emotions to think about what he might be going through, like that ball I made him go to? Yeah. Yeah, and I want to do something for him in turn, but not just anything, because just anything wouldn’t be enough of a something so I thought, why not try something different, you know? Like, maybe, something a little more intimate than a kiss?”

“What do you want to know?”

Anna was solely and utterly shocked. What do I want to know? Did she really just ask me that? What’s more, Elsa had a very sneaky, enraptured simper on her face and had leaned forward as if she were about to divulge a great secret. They sat once more with nothing but the sound of the crackling fireplace as Anna digested her sister’s inquiry. Only now did she realize she hadn’t really thought this plan through. What do I want to know? “Um.. I don’t know where to begin. I don’t know anything about this type of thing,” Anna muttered, grinning in embarrassment. She again thought back to the ice harvesters’ journal and piped up again before Elsa could say anything, “Actually, there is this one thing.”

Elsa got comfortable in her chair, propping her feet up next to Anna’s in a knowledgeably supercilious manner, “Go on.”

“See, it’s.. It’s kind of.. What you do is.. Um.. I-I don’t know how to describe it.”

“Try your best.”

“Um.. You know that thing guys’ have? Yeah.. You kind of rub it, I guess.. Only I don’t know how you would do that, and are you laughing at me?”

Elsa had her face rested in her hand, fingers partially covering her mouth. She was biting her lip, a smiling pulling at the corners of her mouth and pink born from witheld giggles tinting her cheeks. “No, no, I’m not,” she shook her head wildly, hoping to clear her expression, “I’m not. I know what you’re talking about. So, you want to know how you would-” she lapsed into giggling again, fighting it back even as her voice cracked, “-go about rubbing it?”

Anna nodded with a pout, folding her arms and lightly kicking her sister in the shin. Elsa stood up, handing her one of the candlesticks from the side table, “Here. This is probably not as thick, but it’s the same shape, right?”

“Um.. Sure?”

“You don’t know?”

“No..”

“Kristoff’s conservative, huh?”

“Elsa!” Anna blushed furiously, gripping the candlestick in both hands and glaring at her sister, who was laughing again. “What?” she scratched her chin, “His is what you’re asking about, isn’t it? Unless there’s someone else.” Anna couldn’t tell which she was more irritated at, the fact that Elsa was acting so nonchalant about something so uncomfortable or that she would even propose that there was someone besides Kristoff. “Of course there’s no one else,” she scoffed, “I love him.”

“What?”

Suddenly both of them stared at the other in intense surprise. Anna couldn’t believe she’d just said that, and Elsa couldn’t believe she’d just heard that. “Ha!” Elsa’s voice rang about the library like a foghorn, her laughter multiplying off the walls. Anna’s eyes widened in bewilderment as her sister fisted the air, “And he said you weren’t in love! I knew it!” She grabbed Anna’s hands and pulled her into a spin, knocking into a large globe but acting like nothing happened. “Elsa, what are you talking about?” Anna stumbled over her feet but miraculously kept her balance, “Who said we weren’t in love?”

“Kristoff! I was talking to him the other day and I said my sister and my best friend were in love, then he said, ‘nobody said we’re in love,’” Elsa did her best imitation of Kristoff’s deep voice, “But you just did, so ha!”

“Wait, what? Kristoff.. Doesn’t love me?”

Everything went still, the globe still spinning and the fire still popping, but neither princess moved. Finally, Elsa cleared her throat, “I don’t think that’s what he meant, Anna. He grinned like a fool when I told him you were saying you were spoken for. He’s just scared, he’s been alone almost his whole life. Give him time. Have you told him how you feel?” Anna’s lip quivered and she nodded slowly, Elsa’s arms coming around her shoulders. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t love you,” she spoke softly, comfortingly, rubbing Anna’s arm, “I’ve never seen anyone smile as much as he does around you.”

“But he never says it back,” Anna’s voice wavered, dangerously saturated, “Everytime I say it, he never says it back.” She shivered when Elsa moved away, glancing up curiously as she retrieved the discarded candlestick. “Maybe instead of telling him,” she quirked an eyebrow, smiling coyly and stroking her hand up and down the silver shaft, “You should show him? Hm?” Anna couldn’t help but giggle, covering her mouth with both hands and blushing horribly, “How would that help?”

“Well, it might help him relax a little bit. Maybe enough to get over his fear, and.. say it back?”

“Elsa.. Are you encouraging this?”

Instead of an answer, Elsa handed her sister the candlestick. Anna’s cheeks turned pink as she took it, mimicking the gesture Elsa made earlier. She giggled excitedly, like she was doing something she wasn’t suppose to, “It’s kind of fun.” Elsa smiled and nodded her head, then had to do a double take over Anna’s shoulder as her eyes widened, “Kristoff!”

Anna immediately dropped the stick, hopping away as if it burnt her and whirling on the balls of her feet. She was already preparing an explanation as to what she was just doing, but Kristoff wasn’t there. Her face contorted in confusion until Elsa burst out laughing, “You should have seen your face! Oh god, imagine if he really caught you doing that!” She had to pinwheel her arms to keep from falling over when Anna shoved her, not too hard but hard enough. “You’re mean!” she fumed, plopping back onto the couch with her arms folded over her little chest. She wasn’t really mad, though. After all, it was the first time Elsa had played a trick on her, which meant she was opening up, right?

Anna glanced up at her sister’s silence, blinking as she saw her tap her chin. “What are you thinking?” she mumbled skeptically, leaning back when Elsa looked at her and grinned. “I’m thinking,” she started, whirling away to a cabinet embedded in the wall, “That we need to get you some new pajamas.”

“Pajamas, Elsa?”

“Well, something new for you to wear at night,” Elsa shrugged, turning around with a brand new pair of undergarments in her hand. They were as strange a set as Anna had ever seen, the sleeves loose and flowy, as if they were meant to hang off of the shoulders, the bottoms short and tight in the butt. “What am I suppose to do with a fancy pair of undergarments? No one’s going to see-” The reason became clear mid sentence and Anna bit her lip nervously, flushing red from her ears all the way to her freckled clavicle, “Oh.”

Elsa chuckled, draping the garments over the arm of the couch, “It’s just a little encouragement for him, you know. If it’s too much for the first time fooling around, that’s alright, but keep it in mind.” She winked. They talked about several more interesting things, like what would happen if he “finished,” in Elsa’s words. Eventually, Anna sighed, but smiled, “How am I suppose to approach this? I can’t just ask him, he’d run for sure. He’s so skittish about this stuff.”

“Just be sexy.”

“Please,” Anna scoffed, “I couldn’t be sexy if I tried. I tripped on your fancy dress the other night.”

“I saw the shoe print.”

"I'm sorry.."

Elsa rolled her eyes, flapping her wrist dismissively, "Don't worry about that, worry about how you're going to get Kristoff weak in the knees. If you can't be sexy, try sneaky."

"Sneaky?"

"Yeah, mischievous."

"Mischievous," Anna watched in disbelief as Elsa threw her shoulder against a bookshelf, looking up at it slyly, "You know, Kristoff.. You're always so good to me." Her little sister giggled madly as she swooped from the shelf to throw her arms around the globe, one leg raised and hooked around the stem of it. "And you're always working so hard. Isn't there any way I could possibly repay you?" The ice princess's hand began to drift lower on the sphere as if to caress an imaginary 'thing that boys have.' Anna's face burned so bright that she thought she might melt the hands that hid her eyes. She risked a peek through her fingers to see Elsa bent over the small side table, one arm around the picture of Arendelle's countryside, "Let me help you relax. I know it'll leave you breathless."

Anna squealed and giggled madly.

 

Kristoff trudged heavily down the hall, rubbing his eye and yawning widely. Not only had he run ice today, he’d cut up the creek Elsa had frozen and delivered that, as well. His biceps ached and his back was sore, and he very much looked forward to prattling with Elsa while cuddling Anna. Kai said that Elsa was last seen in the library, and Anna had gone to find her, so it was likely they were both there. He was about to nudge the door open when he heard his name and paused, blinking in confusion to Anna’s delighted squeals of laughter.

His eyes widened at Elsa’s expression as he opened the door. She obviously hadn’t seen him yet, lip curled in a saucy smirk and her hand trailing slowly up her thigh. He cleared his throat, snorting in amusement when both girls jumped and Anna whipped around to stare at him. “What are you doing?” he kinked an eyebrow. Anna chucked a candlestick he hadn’t noticed she was holding across the room without breaking eye contact. She and Elsa both gave him very cheesy grins and answered in unison: “Nothing.”

“Uh-huh,” he glanced briefly around at the room, catching sight of some outfit laid out on the couch before Elsa scooped it up and stuffed it in a wardrobe in the corner. “I’m glad you’re here, actually!” she was saying, dusting her hands off and crossing towards him. He took a skeptic step back only to have her roll her eyes and tug him around the couch to Anna. Even she looked confused as Elsa situated her sister’s hands on Kristoff’s chest. Elsa cleared her throat, “Does this make you nervous?” Kristoff blinked, “Um.. No.” He didn’t see Elsa stub her toe to Anna’s heel. He didn’t notice the look of realization sprint across Anna’s face. He didn’t yet understand that he was at their mercy.

The movement was very slow, but he distinctly felt Anna’s nails curl against his shirt. He looked down at her, assuming she was trying to get his attention, and almost choked at the expression on her face. She was bright red, freckles beaming obviously, lips curved in her version of a provocative grin. Kristoff didn’t know what to do. The longer he stared at her, the brighter his cheeks grew and the more out of place he felt. “Anna-” he squeaked, but she cut him off by nuzzling her face to his neck.

“Does this make you nervous?” he heard her whisper, but he was so lost in the odd patterns her fingers traced on his shoulder that he couldn’t answer. His eyelids drooped and his chest heaved shallowly, his head tilting back slightly as Anna nibbled at his throat. When he felt his knees start to shake, he remembered Elsa and his eyes snapped wide open. He pounced back and stumbled into the armchair, knocking the side table over and falling on his butt with a loud thump.

Both princesses giggled deliriously, which only served to make Kristoff even more upset and uncomfortable. Pushing himself to his feet, he set the table back up right and shot them both a glare before turning to storm out.

 

“I’m so sorry, Kristoff.. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, or laugh..” Anna sat hugging her knees on the floor outside of Kristoff’s locked room. Elsa had given it to him for when he wanted a nice, warm place to stay that wasn’t a barn, and he frequented it more than he expected he would. “Please come out..” Anna’s soft voice cracked as she dropped her head into her arms. Elsa was down in the kitchen preparing a special meal and dessert to make up for her laughter, but Anna refused to leave until he understood just how sorry she really was.

As soon as he left, they both had gone after him. Elsa understood more that he needed space, having done the exact same thing he was doing right now for years. Anna, on the other hand, just wanted him to hold her and nuzzle her and reassure her that he wasn’t angry. She felt bad, and she knew she probably shouldn’t have engendered him like because he was so timid, but it didn’t feel wrong. At least, not to her.

The door creaked open and Anna jerked her arm out to catch herself before she fell. Her eyes travelled up the crack in the threshold to meet a single, chocolate eye. “Why did you do that?” came a gruff mumble. Anna whimpered, “I was testing the advice I got from Elsa.. I wanted to know how to show you how I feel because-” her voice caught and Kristoff opened the door a fraction wider in encouragement, “I just want to hear you say it.”

“Say what, Anna?”

She didn’t have to answer. As soon as he saw her eyes shimmer and her lip tremble threateningly he knew. No, she didn’t have to answer, but she did, “That you love me.” Guilt jabbed him and he let the door swing the rest of the way open to kneel next to her. “Anna,” he whispered, gathering her up in his arms and pressing his forehead to hers. He squeezed his eyes shut, big nose crinkling, and she giggled softly, halfheartedly, “Your nose is cute.”

“I do lo- uh.. I do.. That.. But I can’t say it yet. I’m so sorry, I’m just scared, okay? But I do. I promise I do.”

“You love me?” Anna’s heart made a strange thump-thump at the nod of his head and she nuzzled his face, leaving kisses wherever her lips brushed. It was a fairly simple gesture, but it meant the world to Kristoff and his whole face tingled by the end of it. “I think I’m still going to use that advice from Elsa,” Anna mumbled shyly, her cheeks flushing with colour.

“And what advice is that?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

She sat across from him at dinner, giving him that same, saucy look from before through the whole meal.


	10. The Persistence of a Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before, it was questionable, but now this fic is officially smut. XD As promised! Thank you for being patient!

Kristoff rolled onto his other side, groaning and forcing his eyes to stay closed even though he knew he wasn’t getting to sleep anytime soon. He’d already tried laying on his stomach but his body wasn’t having that. Damn Anna. For the past three nights she tortured him over dinner, giving him that same, saucy stair from the other day and taking just a little too long to lick her fork clean. He couldn’t believe Elsa didn’t notice, but she was never looking when it happened. Or maybe she did notice and was purposefully ignoring it. Come to think of it, it probably has something to do with this ‘advice’ that no one will explain to me, Kristoff thought, chewing the inside of his cheek.

Flipping onto his back, he pressed the palms of his hands to his eyelids and sighed heavily in irritation. No matter what, however, he was not going to relieve himself in this fancy bed with a princess just across the hallway. A very pretty, soft, sexy little redheaded princess.. No! Stop it. He lifted his head to the sound of the door closing and, lo and behold, there stood the very person he was trying so hard not to imagine in here.

“Anna?” he murmured, rolling onto his side and bunching up the blankets to hide his condition. Anna let out a breath he didn’t know she was holding, “Oh, good, you’re awake.” Her voice was still crisp and clear, like she hadn’t even been trying to sleep. Kristoff yawned and sat up on his elbow, “What time is it?”

“About an hour after you came up to bed. Elsa left just after you.”

“Oh. Well, what are you doing in here?”

He eyed her carefully as she bit her lip and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. So something was definitely up, either she had news or a plan and it was likely that neither were in his favour.  “Anna,” he coaxed, voice low and full of suspicion. She shuffled to the side of the bed and slowly sank down onto it, fiddling with one of her messy braids. Now that she was closer, the light from the window showed him that she wore nothing but one of his shirts.

"Anna, where-?" he stared, and it took him a little too long to notice where he was staring. He hoped she'd think he was just looking at the shirt, and not the obvious little protrusions on her chest. She caught him, though, puffing it out just to further capture his attention, "It's the one you loaned to me that night it rained so hard. I still have the pants, too, but they don't really fit." Her fingers traced small circles on his calf, and she giggled at his sharp intake of breath, “I wear it every night. It probably needs to be washed, but then it won’t smell like you anymore.” He had to wrench his gaze back to her face, “Anna, that shirt is probably one I’ve worked in.. I’m constantly told I don’t smell all that great..”

“I like it.”

“Well, you..” he blinked slowly, turning his head to look at the dresser, “I have other shirts.. If you want a clean one, help yourself..” Before he’d even finished, she was on her feet looking through the drawers, sniffing each shirt before finding one that was sufficiently worn and aromatic. Pink clung like ivy to Kristoff’s cheeks, and the colour only intensified when she turned around and batted her long eyelashes at him. Nose still buried, she giggled, “Thank you,” and he nodded numbly.

The silent filling wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy. Mischief flashed in Anna’s eyes and, before Kristof could protest, she tugged his old shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor. Shivering slightly, she took her sweet time to find which side of the new shirt was the front before slipping it on. In those few seconds, Kristoff realized two things: she wasn’t here for a shirt, and she was cold despite his room being warm. He hadn’t moved since she got up, following her with his eyes as she leaned back over the bed and nuzzled his cheek. “Anna?” he croaked, “What are you doing in here?”

“I love you, Kristoff,” was his murmured answer. Little fingers curled into the hair on the nape of his neck and Anna left soft, tingly kisses along his jaw and up to his ear. She cuddled her body close to his, legs tucked to one side of her and torso pressed to his shoulder. He would’ve squeaked her name again if her lips didn’t find his.

She mumbled, and he felt it, “Trust me?” He could only nod, but that was enough for her.

Their mouths crashed together and she literally drove him up the wall, forcing him to sit up straighter and reveal the proof of just how enkindled he already was. She didn’t notice until she shifted onto his lap and he groaned and held her still so she wasn’t rubbing on him. “Kristoff,” she whined, nibbling on his bottom lip. His head shook slightly, “Can’t.. Not a good idea..”

“Why not?”

“Because I-” he choked and grabbed her wrist when she palmed the bulge in his shorts, which was all he was currently wearing. She got the sternest glare he could muster, but she totally ignored it, purring and cooing and nuzzling at his bare chest until he was trembling. “Please, Kristoff? I want to.”

“But.. I’ll get in trouble..”

“No, you won’t. I promise.”

“How do you know?”

“Elsa’s good for advice.”

Wait, what? Kristoff’s mind melted, has she been planning this with Elsa? Is that what the ‘advice’ was about? So Elsa knew, and she condoned it, and she was the only one who could get them in trouble. Now he had no excuse, except the truth. “Anna, I’m afraid,” he blurted suddenly, causing her to sit back in surprise. “Afraid of what?”

“Of getting too attached to you, and then something happening.”

“But you love me. I thought you trusted me.”

“I do, but.. I’ve trusted a lot of people who aren’t around anymore.”

Distant thunder roared outside the window as the first raindrops splattered on the glass. Anna's heart ached for her Kristoff. Sure, her sister shut her out, but she was never completely alone, like he had been. "I'll never leave you," she soothed, running her thumb gently under his eye, "I love you. You're my Kristoff." Kristoff turned crimson as she cuddled against him. Somehow she'd ended up straddling his lap and his stiff member was now flush between their bellies. Her after comment didn't help, either: "My big, strong, mountain man."

"I-I'm not.. N-Not a man yet," he blubbered, cursing her adorable giggle. Anna ghosted her lips over his and pulled his shorts down just enough, rubbing her thumb in slow circles around the head of his cock. This caused his knees to turn in and a moan that perfectly matched the thunder outside to rumble through his chest. He didn't grab her this time, but he did pout. It was too late. Anna's eyes blazed with excitement at the sound he'd made. No way was she stopping now.

Their lips came back together in an equally desperate wrestle, Kristoff's hands pushing up the hem of her shirt only to drag down the skin of her belly. Anna squirmed and squeaked, to his satisfaction. Her fingers were attentive and gentle, conscious of the places and pressure they squeezed him at but constantly roaming. He knew she was just exploring but he was getting impatient, thumbs tracing the bottom outline of her little breasts, begging for permission. Sure, he’d already seen her naked, but seeing and feeling were two different things. “Anna, please,” he whimpered through a light moan, asking both to touch her and be touched by her.

She obliged him, encircling the width of him in her small hand, fingers barely able to meet. Elsa was right; candlesticks were not the same thickness. As she drifted along him, however, she discovered that they were an accurate representation of length. At the same time, she gave him a teeny nod and he cupped her breasts, soft against his palms. His mouth strayed from hers, out along her jaw and then down over her neck, licking and nibbling teasingly as he kneaded.

Every time she moaned, he shivered.

Every time he moaned, she keened.

Anna’s shirt was quickly discarded, and the only reason Kristoff still had shorts on was because she was sitting on them. Both were a heaving mess, one of his big hands on the small of her back, holding her body as tight against his as he could while still leaving room for their hands to work. Her spare fingers were tangled in his blonde locks, nails occasionally scraping his scalp and thumb rubbing at his temple.

Anna was elated that her plan worked. Elsa had told her that taking this step would only further their connection, and she should think very hard and be absolutely sure it’s what she wanted. Thinking back to her hesitation now, she couldn’t believe she’d had to think about it. What more could anyone ever want? Kristoff was warm and kind, though he may have been hostile at first. His sturdy build encompassed her delicate soul like a cocoon, protective yet comforting. WIth him, she knew she was always safe.

Kristoff was unable to fathom what was happening. Not only did he have a beautiful, big-hearted princess in his lap, but she completely destroyed any wall he’d ever built to shield himself from humanity. It was hard to convince himself that such a small vessel could hold a spirit as big as hers, but the evidence was right here in his grasp, all big eyes and soft, giddy, whispered proclamations of her love for him. Silly Anna didn’t realize what she was doing. He’d been cold his whole life, frozen, and now he was nothing but a big, warm, lumpy puddle of mush in her arms.

“Kristoff?” he heard her whisper, thumbing the underside of his member. His reply was breathless, “Yes, Anna?” He felt her lean forward and grip his hair a little tighter, nuzzling her face as close to his as possible, “I love you.”

A dam broke. Whatever hold Kristoff had on his emotions shattered into tiny fractals. His eyes flooded with hot tears, hands shaking as he gathered Anna in his arms and folded himself around her. She squeaked as he squeezed her, pressing both hands to his chest and tucking her head under his chin when he tipped over. They fell unceremoniously onto the mattress, Kristoff with his face buried in Anna’s copper hair. He was trembling and sobbing softly, sniffling every now and then.

“Kristoff?” she looked up at his chin, tingling at his fingers playing with one of her braids. He didn’t say anything, only curled up tighter so she was even further engulfed by his stocky frame. She tried not to giggle at the fact that he was still half hard and hanging out of his shorts, but it was difficult when her neck was forcibly craned so she was looking down between them. “Kristoff,” she tittered, wiggling her arms down to tuck him gently away. He shivered and breathed a tiny moan, but didn’t move otherwise.

After several minutes of just the rain patting the window, he spoke, “Anna, I’m my happiest with you. I don’t understand what it is, but something about you just..”

“Elsa says I have a likeable personality.”

Kristoff chuckled, full and deep, “Likeable is an understatement.”

Anna was amply warm now. In fact, she was a little ember on his chest. He couldn’t tell if it was her that was burning or him. “I’m guessing you’re not going back to your room tonight,” he mumbled, smiling and staring down at the top of her head over his nose. She laughed lightly, “I don’t think I’m allowed to.” It was his turn to laugh, tightening his arms around her in response. At the back of his mind, he was cursing himself for not holding out until he’d finished because now he was going to have to sleep with that between them. Oh well. Everything was worth it for Anna.

 

Realistically, Elsa shouldn’t have been surprised when neither Anna nor Kristoff came down to breakfast. She’d expected it to happen yesterday but both of them were present, so when she pretended not to catch Anna sneaking across the hall while she was walking back from the library, she knew what was up. Still, she had a nagging curiosity.

On her way back to her room, Elsa paused outside of Kristoff’s door. Maybe I’ll just ask him how he slept, she smiled evilly, twisting the door knob as silently as possible. She was going to burst in and yell good morning to him, but she caught her breath when she saw them. Anna’s face was nestled sweetly to his throat, one arm draped over his waist and the other tucked between their chests. Her legs hung over his, which were curled up to her butt. Her bare butt. Elsa narrowed her eyes suspiciously, standing on her toes to see if Kristoff at least had anything on, and she was pleased to see that he did.

Although, he held her so tightly she thought she may need a crowbar to pry them apart, and even that may not have worked. Not that she wanted to pry them apart, they looked so content, Anna snoring and drooling on his shoulder.

Elsa smiled and grabbed the blankets at the end of the bed, tugging them up over them carefully. Kristoff snorted and his eyes fluttered open. He stretched and nuzzled Anna’s temple with a big, goofy smile before he realized Elsa was watching. She shushed him harshly before he could say anything and held her hands out to stop him from sitting up, “Don’t move, you’ll wake her!” Her whisper was hoarse and stern.

Kristoff settled back down, but was clearly not relaxed even though he didn’t say anything. Then he noticed the blanket and gave Elsa a look of bewilderment. He opened his mouth to say something but she beat him to it, “I told you, I like you two together. Just work on the clothes thing, okay? Or lack there of.” He nodded fervently, snapping his jaw closed before looking down as Anna shifted ever closer to him. Elsa had only ever seen the smile he gave her once, on Mama when Anna was born.

“And you said you weren’t in love.”

Kristoff scoffed quietly, snuggling his face back into Anna’s braids and curling up again. “Okay, so I fibbed,” he mumbled, “I’m only human.” Elsa chuckled at him. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Anna’s cheek, then gently petted Kristoff’s hair and rested her forehead on the side of his for a moment.

“If I ever were to have a brother, I’m glad it’d be you,” he heard her say before she disappeared, leaving him to stare at the door gratefully.


	11. False Pretenses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, yeeeesss, now that I have built you all a cozy sense of security for our two lovebirds.. Let’s knock it down! More Hans! Yes! I feel like I neglect his character sometimes, but I don’t feel bad, no, I don’t, not at all. In fact, it makes me happy to ignore him. That’s why Kristoff beat the snot out of him in chapter 6, oh yes he did.

After the first night, Kristoff seemed a little bit more relaxed, though he was still reserved about the intimate things. Elsa didn’t say anything to him, but she did sometimes question Anna about whether or not they’d done something else. Only one time since had they done anything remotely like that, something that Elsa called “grinding,” in Anna’s room. She also asked about Kristoff’s foot size, but her sister clearly did not get her meaning.

About three days later, a knock sounded on the castle door. They’d been keeping the gates open so Kristoff wouldn’t be hassled when he came over. Elsa was roaming the halls with a book when Gerda came to get her. She stared at the pompous individual outside the door, holding himself as though he were better than her. “Haven’t I seen you before?” Elsa narrowed her eyes, looking him up and down. When he nodded she smiled sarcastically, “Oh, right! You’re Hans.. I liked you better with black eyes.”

Hans sneered at her, but quickly caught himself and corrected his posture, “I came to apologize to Anna. I know that my actions were uncalled for, even if she did use such foul language, and I am truly sorry. Might I take her out for a walk?”

“I suppose that would be up to her, though Anna is too trusting, so I’m sure she’ll say yes. However she’s with Kristoff right now, so you have to wait.”

Just then, Anna came prancing down the stairs as if she could float, humming and staring up at the ceiling. Elsa blinked and left the door open so Hans could see her. “Anna? Where’s Kristoff?” Her sister turned slowly, as if barely registering that she was being spoken too, “Oh, I wish he could’ve stayed but he had to work today, so he left early.”

“You look happy for not being able to smother him this morning.” Elsa smirked, knowing just how much Anna loved to hang on Kristoff no matter what they were doing. Her smug expression only worsened when Anna giggled, “We had a fun goodbye.”

"Oh, I see."

Hans cleared his throat, strangely disturbed by Anna's statement about a 'fun' goodbye. What could they possibly have been doing? "Anna, I wish to apologize," he said, "would you join me for a walk?" Anna looked skeptical, absentmindedly raising her hand to her cheek but nodding anyway. She waved bye to Elsa and reluctantly accepted Hans' offered arm.

He led her out the gates and through the market, muttering all the way: "I am deeply sorry, Princess. I meant no harm, I simply reacted to the foul word you threw at me. You've really been spending too much time with Bjorgman if you've learned a word like that."

"Actually," Anna snorted, retracting her arm from his, "I learned that word from my father when we were little. On accident, of course." Hans looked perturbed, "still, people are saying things. If you won't listen to me, listen to the people. They disapprove of your.. Courtship."

"Why?"

"Well, he's the lowest kind of common you can possibly be."

"Even if he was, so what?"

She had successfully thrown him off, like she had a habit of doing to everyone. Only when they passed the ice house did he get his answer.

Anna again stopped them to pet Sven and she visibly looked for Kristoff this time. However, he was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Kristoff?" Anna asked the reindeer. He seemed to nod his head in the direction behind the icehouse, so Anna waved for Hans to wait. She had a devilish smile on her face.

As she rounded the corner, Hans crossed his arms begrudgingly. He wasn't about to stand there while they were probably laughing about him, so he stormed along the wooden wall of the icehouse. He stopped in his tracks when he heard strange noises, like giggling but squeakier. He quickened his pace and was abashed to find Anna held tightly in Kristoff's big arms, face aglow as he nibbled at her cheeks and her hand rested inappropriately low on his belly. "Princess Anna!" Hans burst, earning a yelp from her and a protective growl from Kristoff. Once they saw who it was, they relaxed but separated rapidly, faces flushed with bright smiles.

Hans was greatly perturbed. Anna giggled nervously and blew Kristoff a kiss and a small, whispered, "I'll see you later." Kristoff leaned against the wall, brushed Anna's cheek as she walked by, and sighed with a heavy grin. He gave Hans a fleeting smirk.

Once she had returned to him, Hans snarled, "May I speak my mind to you alone?" Anna nodded and they receded to the edges of Arendelle, where Hans proceeded to scrutinize. "Princess," he began, "What I just saw was unexplainably disgusting. Those kinds of things are not to be done with someone like him, no matter how much you care."

Anna bristled, "And why not? I love him. He makes me feel happy and safe."

'Safe' was not the word she should have used. It was exactly what Hans was looking for. "Safe? Anna.. You don't know about that stuff, do you?" She had a slightly irritated, confused gape to her mouth, and her head shook. Hans continued, "He'll touch you in frightening ways, Anna. He'll hurt you. If you let him think it's okay to do that, he'll put you through the worst pain you'll ever experience."

The air was quiet for a long moment until Anna finally shook her head weakly, "No, Kristoff would never hurt me." But she was doubting even as she defended him. Hans moved a little closer to her, "How do you know? Have you felt his hands on you?" For a second he hesitated before brushing her bodice lightly. She gasped and jumped away from him, frightened. "You see?" he rumbled triumphantly, "you don't want that, do you? That's what it'll feel like."

Something about the way he said that didn't feel quite right to Anna, but maybe it was just the denial; her refusal to believe that Kristoff would do such a thing. Then again, she touched him, so why wouldn't he want to return it? And unless she was reading him totally wrong, he enjoyed the physical contact. Shouldn't she, then, also want to be felt by him? And if she didn't, did she not really love him or was it just her inexperience that made her afraid?

Whatever the reason, she afraid. She couldn't tell of what, though.

Hans brought her back from her deep thoughts with a small brush to her cheek. If it was meant as another example, then it disproved his point. Kristoff had done that and she always felt warm and bubbly, but Hans made her feel uneasy. Maybe it was just Hans, then.

Now she was confused from every angle.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," she backed away and started sprinting towards the castle, determined to share these mixed feelings with her sister. Hans seethed.

 

As soon as she was through the door, Anna was shouting for Elsa. Her sister evidently was in the library again, because she came quickly from that wing of the castle. "What is it, Anna?" she asked, flustered, "what's wrong?" After a not so brief explanation with plenty of rambling in different directions, Elsa held her hand up for her sibling to stop. "Hans is a known liar, Anna. Of course you're nervous for Kristoff to return the affection you've been giving him. You've never had it before."

"But Hans said if I let him think it's okay that he'll hurt me!"

Elsa blinked. It took a moment to register the meaning of those words, which Anna clearly did not understand, but when she did she was both furious and amused. "Anna," she started gently, "did Mama and Papa ever have the talk with you?"

"What talk?"

"About sex.."

"Oh," Anna's face flushed, "Yes. Why?" Elsa took her little sister's hand and led her through the great hallways of their home, "Because I think that's what Hans meant. And yes, it'll hurt the first time, but Kristoff wouldn't do that on purpose." The truth of her statement made Anna slap her forehead. She should have guessed that. However, she was still scared, "But I'm afraid of him touching me like that."

"Then you're not ready," Elsa shrugged. She was surprisingly calm for the awkward conversation.

There was little Anna could think to say now. She retreated to her room to mull over everything she'd heard that day, and maybe cuddle Kristoff's shirt, which she had been using as a pillowcase when she wasn't wearing it. She adored his musky scent. It was reindeer, yes, but it was also uniquely Kristoff. Nothing in the whole world was better. Nobody treated her with more love and affection. He was her safety.. Right?


	12. Unhappy Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit more angst, then we’ll bring ‘em back together with a bang, I promise.

Kristoff rubbed his neck nervously. He stood in Elsa’s huge closet as she fussed about his feet being too big for any of the shoes they had. She winked, too, so he was pretty sure she was being sassy. She’d managed to convince him to dress up for the ball that night, but on the condition that he could wear loose fitting clothing. So to work she set, trying all of the puffy pants and shirts she could before they settled on a pair that looked nice. The shirt was white with cinched cuffs and a wide boat neck collar, the pants being simply brown but soft and snug. Elsa had added little crystals of detail here and there just to make him look a bit less like a pirate and more like a prince. Though he admittedly did look nice in the makeshift suit.

“Anna’s going to adore you,” Elsa clapped happily, “I can’t wait until she sees! You look so handsome.”

“Yeah?” Kristoff shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets, “I don’t know. Maybe I should have let you buff me out in that monkey suit.”

“Nonsense, you look so much better in this.”

She did adore him, as it would turn out. Anna sat on the big, left throne in the ballroom looking as beautiful as ever in her pretty blue birthday dress, which Elsa had spent days on. She was so beautiful, in fact, that Kristoff couldn’t bring his legs to work when she laid her soft eyes on him. His knees turned to jello as he wobbled through the crowd of people. Anna stood very still, also transfixed by his snazzy appearance for the night. “You didn’t have to dress up for me,” she squeaked, throwing her arms around his neck. He chuckled and squeezed her waist, “Yes, I did. Happy birthday, feistypants.

Despite the locals loathing his presence, foreigners seemed to really like Kristoff. Eugene and Rapunzel were there, along with some Irish princess with a very heavy accent and even crazier hair than Anna's bed head. Foreign young women gawked at his muscular arms and thighs, which annoyed Anna to no end. She stole a chaste kiss from him once or twice to let them know he was taken, but when that didn't work she had to resort to more drastic measures. Princess Anna was openly molesting her courter. Kristoff didn't understand the sudden change from quaint and reserved to her fingers lingering a tad too long on his lower back, her leg rubbing his under whatever table they were asked to sit and chat at. She was being sultry without a reason he could see. But he didn't retaliate until her hand squeezed his inner thigh and he was yanking her out of the room, down the hall, up the stairs, to his bedroom where he couldn't lock the door fast enough.

"Okay," he panted from the run there, "What are you trying to-" He was cut off by lips hard on his, swallowing whatever words would have otherwise escaped him. Hands from both partners roamed absentmindedly until they were both breathing heavily from short, gasped breaths between serious kisses and teasing brushes. Anna was the first to take it further, loosening the drawstring on Kristoff's pants and stuffing her hand down the front of them. He hummed appreciatively, kneading her bodice with trembling fingers.

The moment was ruined by Anna's terrified squeal at the lifting of her skirt. He hadn't meant to startle her, but something about the way she pulled away from him, the way her eyes locked on his as if he were pointing a gun at her, was off putting. "Anna?" Kristoff reached for her carefully, but she stumbled back into the bed post. "Don't," she pleaded, "Please don't. I'm scared, Kris. Don't hurt me."

"What? Anna, I would never hurt you."

"Then why were you trying to touch me?"

An awkward silence fell in which Kristoff had to collect his shards of disbelief. Did she really think he'd hurt her? Why was she so upset about this? "The same reason you touch me?" he asked more than stated. Anna glanced down at her hands and then to his ruffled, crooked waistline. I suppose that's right, she thought cautiously, but our bodies aren't the same. It wouldn't feel the same. "No." she finally straightened herself, "I don't want that from you. Hans was right."

She could have worded that better. She could have left Hans out of it, but no. Kristoff's lip twitched, "About what? What did he tell you, Anna?" He seemed dangerous now, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her when she refused to answer. "What did he tell you!"

"Stop it!" Anna pleaded, "It doesn't matter, he was right! He was right about you!"

All the things Hans had ever said to Kristoff came crashing over him in big waves now, causing him to stumble numbly away from Anna with tears brimming his brown eyes. "Wh-What?" he stuttered, watching her face battle with fear and concern. She didn’t get to answer before a door was slammed in her face and Elsa was soon dealing with a very angry, broken Kristoff.


	13. Caught Making Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes it better for you. This is kind of my apology to Kristoff because I am so mean to him. XD Enjoy~

“What are you doing here?” Kristoff muttered coldly,crossing his arms in front of his chest. He stood behind a pallette of ice that he’d just finished boxing up. Nobody else was around, as usual, though the other harvesters would occasionally come check up on him. Anna took a tentative step inside the icehouse. Despite all the, well, ice, it was surprisingly kind of warm, but not warm enough that it would all melt. She was staring at the floor muttering too low for Kristoff to hear, and all he caught was “I’m so sorry,” before her arms were around his waist. He didn’t reject her, but he didn’t return her affection, either. He stayed rigid and distant, even as she nuzzled his chest, “I didn’t mean any of it, Kristoff. I was scared. I could have just said I wasn’t ready, I didn’t have to say anything about Hans. I’m so sorry.”

Blue eyes turned up to pierce his brown ones and part of him melted, but his stance didn’t budge. His voice, however, cracked, “That hurt.”

“I know,” Anna’s lip quivered, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I promised I wouldn’t and I broke that promise. Is there anyway I could possibly make it up to you?” Kristoff shrugged and his shoulders slumped as he drew her close to him, “Please don’t ever say it again.”

“I won’t.” Anna stood on her tip toes to press a long, full kiss to his lips, which quickly became more heated than she originally meant for it to be. Both began panting as fingers brushed sacred places and mumbled apologies were exchanged.

“I’m so sorry I scared you.”

“No, I’m sorry I made you feel bad.”

“Please forgive me.”

“Always.”

Anna pressed Kristoff back against the icehouse shelves, putting her little fingers under the hem of his shirt to rest on his bare belly. He gave a little giggle, which intrigued her, but she didn’t act on her hunch that he was ticklish. Instead, she appealed to his weaker side and pulled back to pout up at him. She batted her long lashes slowly, sticking her bottom lip out and muttering, “Can I make it up to you?”

Without an answer, she fell to her knees behind the big box he had packaged up and kissed at his thighs. “A-Anna?” he questioned shyly, leaning back from her without much success. “Hmm?” She met his eyes with wide, innocent blues that left him breathless just long enough for her to get his trousers undone before he realized what was happening. “Woah, wait,” he grabbed her wrists, “Anna, what if we get caught? I know Elsa consented to the other stuff, but if she found out somebody found us with you on your knees.. She’d kill me for sure.”

“I’m willing to take the fall. I love you, Kristoff. Please let me do this.”

There she was begging to please him again. When will she learn I can’t say no to her? “Okay, fine.. But please be careful.” His plea was in case someone found them and because he'd never had this happen before. In fact, this was a whole other level of trust that he wasn't sure they had yet. He'd never say it out loud, but he almost didn't want this to happen. Of course, that was before she took him gently in hand and kissed along the length of him, soft lips warm and moist. He shivered and watched her slowly take him into her mouth, his entire world narrowing on what she was doing. He couldn't stop a short, breathy moan from escaping his throat as his hips involuntarily bucked forward. Anna gave a small, squeaky giggle but didn't pull away, letting him work up an easy rhythm in her mouth.

Kristoff’s eyes fluttered, almost shut, then snapped open at the sound of footsteps on the icehouse stairs. Anna must have heard it, too, because she jumped back to her feet and turned her back to him to press her butt to his groin, hiding him from the world. “Kristoff?” a gruff voice asked, an ice harvester bigger than anything Anna had ever seen poking his head through the door. When he saw Anna, he blanched and dropped the pickaxe he was holding, “Princess Anna. What are you doing in here?”

“Uh, I was.. Inspecting!” Anna lied, grinning and elbowing Kristoff when he opened his mouth, “Your runner does a good job!” Kristoff blushed, rubbing the back of his neck partly because he was embarrassed and partly because he was mortified that he was still out of his pants. The older harvester chuckled, “Aren’t you two an item? I don’t think it’d be wise to be in here all by yourselves.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Anna pushed Kristoff back towards the rear exit, still holding her skirts around his member, “We’ll be going!” Before there could be an answer, they both tumbled through the door and landed in a pile of limbs, Kristoff still covered by Anna’s dress, blessed be. “Anna, what-” he started, but she pressed her finger to his lips, “I’m not finished. Let’s go somewhere else.”


	14. Reflections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, what did you think of that? Anna, Anna, Anna.. Let’s continue.

Probably the best thing Kristoff ever experienced wasn’t the way Anna felt around him, but the pure delight she got from the event. Her pressing smile still tingled on his lips, he could still feel her calves rubbing his back, and even though she’d been pained at first (and neither were anywhere near graceful) the sheer sight of her laid out beneath him with the widest grin would forever burn in his memory. He simply loved to please her.

Anna’s little fingers curled into the hair growing on his chest as she instinctively snuggled closer to him. She smelled of sweat, hay, and something a bit more pungent that Kristoff found intoxicating. Despite the chilly afternoon, they were quite warm amongst the horses on their bed of straw and riding blankets. The easy rise and fall of Anna’s chest was rhythmic enough to keep Kristoff in a drowsy state and at the same time excite him. She was sleeping peacefully, a tiny smile still flush on her swollen lips. Not an hour ago had she been the wildest thing he could imagine and now she looked so delicate, so fragile.

He’d been afraid he would break her, and in a way he did. There was blood. A lot of blood. Or what seemed like a lot to him. He felt nauseas seeing it and knowing he had done that to her, but she’d kissed him softly and whispered, “I’m okay. It’s worth it.” He spent the first ten minutes of post pleasure apologizing and hugging and kissing her sleepy eyes and still she shrugged it off as no big deal. In fact, she wanted to do it again, but he’d decided that was enough for the first time. Now she dosed comfortably as Kristoff watched her, one arm encircling her waist and the other stroking her copper hair. It was still damp, and within its silky waves Kristoff found that he couldn’t ever let her go.

He pressed his lips to the top of her head and closed his eyes to chuckle to himself, “Just a kiss, she said.”

“It’ll be fun, she said,” a small voice answered. A still sleepy Anna looked up at him with bright, adoring eyes. Kristoff returned her gentle smile and stroked his thumb over her cheek, mumbling, “You were only half right. How do you feel?”

“Pretty sore, but otherwise like I’m floating.”

“That’s good.”

“You take up a lot of space.”

Kristoff gaped at her, unsure how to respond to that. So he didn’t, snapping his mouth shut and swallowing his embarrassment as a deep blush crept up his neck. Anna giggled and rolled on top of him, “Could we stay like this forever?” Tension slightly diffused, Kristoff smiled and tilted his head, “I wish, Feistypants. But sooner or later Elsa will find us.”

At the mention of her sister, Anna sat bolt upright and almost smacked her head on a hanging saddle. “Elsa!” she said the name like a curse, “She’s going to kill me! I didn’t mean for this to happen!” Kristoff blinked, slowly sitting up with her and knitting his eyebrows together in a hurt expression. Anna blabbered, “I mean, no, I loved it! I did, in fact I want to do it again, I just didn’t initially mean for it to get that far. I don’t regret it, Kris, I promise.”

“Okay..”

“Don’t look like that,” Anna cupped his cheeks and planted a lingering kiss on his big nose, “I love you.”

Before there could be an answer, the stable doors swung open and both perpetrators froze. A young stable boy, younger than either of them, walked right past their stall whistling a tune to himself. Kristoff’s eyes grew round and blood shot, all of his instincts telling him to run, but he couldn’t move. The stablehand returned leading a horse, still whistling and with his eyes closed, so even when he absentmindedly kicked the stall door open wider he didn’t see them.

Only when the latch was heard did either of them even twitch. Anna sighed dramatically, stretched, then flopped back on top of her love to nuzzle his neck. “Anna,” Kristoff almost giggled, scrunching his neck and squirming beneath her. “You’re ticklish, aren’t you?” Anna narrowed her eyes playfully, “I knew it.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Am not.”

“Let’s test it!”

“Wait, wha-” before Kristoff could finish he was thrown into a fit of hysterical laughter by Anna jabbing at his sides. He struggled to grip her wrists, kicking his legs futilely and throwing his head back into the blankets. Anna might have kept going if she wasn’t worried about attracting too much attention, so she silenced him with a hard kiss and a gentle squeeze between the thighs. He really did silence, too. He gave a silent gasp and his eyes rolled back, hips involuntarily lifting towards her. “Okay, I’m ticklish,” he mumbled when she pulled away, lifting his head in a whimpered attempt to keep their lips connected. She gave him a knowing smile and wiggled her shoulders, “I know.”

They fell together rapidly, Anna pinning Kristoff to the pile of hay and forcing her tongue upon his. Common sense was fast disappearing from his mind the lower down her hands travelled, and she was quickly growing bolder with control. Her legs ached as she straddled him but it became a dull throb in the back of her mind when his fingers traced the rosy buds on her little chest, calloused and rough, yet so gentle. She was about to mount him when a throat cleared. They both jumped away from each other, Kristoff throwing a blanket over Anna to at least hide her from view. However, he was left exposed with a big problem. “Kai!” he heard Anna squeal as he turned around and pressed his forehead to the barn wall. Thoughts of death plagued him.

“Princess, your presence is requested by your sister,” Kai said calmly, eyes closed, “And the other harvesters are looking for you, Master Bjorgman.”

“Kai, please don’t tell!” Anna begged, “You can’t! Kristoff, he-.. It was my idea!” She scooted along the wall over to where Kristoff was standing and wrapped the blanket around both of them to provide him with some kind of modesty. “Anna,” he gushed, trying to pull away from her. She wasn’t having it, “Kris, he’s already seen.”

“I haven’t seen anything.” Kai sniffed, half turning away, “I merely came to bring a message.” Both teens stared at him in true shock as he walked away. Anna called, “You promise?”

With a wink, Kai disappeared.


	15. Brilliant Colours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's sensual AND shameless. Probably should post a warning here, if you aren't even comfortable with regular smut, don't read this chapter. It's not too important to the storyline for you to know exactly how it went down. This is for my fellow perverts who were upset that I skipped the smut in the last one.

Anna was one for colour. She loved brights, darks, mutes, and even undertones, but none compared to what she saw when Kristoff touched her. Little explosions of brilliant colours popped behind her closed eyelids as he probed her skin. Just like her, he was a fast learner, and although he was clumsy he paid very close attention to what made her react what way. He liked to do things for himself, too, like kiss constellations in her freckles and trace her creases with his tongue. Fingers were wonderful, Anna decided, but his mouth was godly and devout. He seemed to enjoy her breasts in particular, lavishing each pert nipple in moist affection before moving on to her collar bone or belly. He always ended up back at her chest, but she was not complaining.

One particular evening, Elsa had allowed her to camp out with him. The sky was totally clear, the stars were shining brightly, and still Kristoff’s brown eyes looking up at her eagerly from his bent over position on the edge of the sled put the entire view of Arendelle to shame. “I want to try something,” he told her, sliding off the sled and pulling her over to the edge, her legs on either side of his hips. “What would that be?” Anna hummed, laying back with her arms stretched above her head as he rubbed at her belly and thighs. “Just a little something,” he leaned over to kiss a trail between her breasts, “You have to trust me.”

“With all my heart.”

Since the incident in the stables, Kristoff had become more experimental with each visit. He’d actually started paying attention to what the other ice harvesters had to say about their women. He would join in had his courtee not been the princess. He was positive that it was highly inappropriate to speak of their private matters. However, he would sometimes nod in agreement or ask one to elaborate, but when questioned he shot the subject down immediately. He was pretty sure they were catching on, though.

He’d recently come across something interesting and wanted to give it a try.

He started by untying her bodice, having already discarded her dress, and kissed his way down every lace until it ended just below her belly button. She arched her back into him, practically purring as her fingers wound up in his hair. Girdle tossed aside, she lay fully exposed to him in the moonlight that made her freckle dusted skin shine like perfect porcelain. Kristoff stood up straight to admire her, the beginnings of tears lining his eyes. "You are so beautiful," he murmured, smiling widely. Anna sat up to kiss his chin, rubbing her hands appreciatively over his bare chest, "So are you."

Spurred on, Kristoff bent and placed a soft kiss that made her squirm just below her belly button. He kneeled down and nuzzled her thigh, looking up at her for permission, "May we?" Anna didn't quite understand what he was asking to do, but she had an idea because she'd done the same thing to him once. "We may," she smiled gently, brushing her fingers through his blond locks.

She wasn't prepared for what he did. Tongue like fire, lips like lapping waves, he brought her crashing into a sea of confused pleasure. She never thought to play with the little bundle of nerves above her entrance, but she knew now how it felt. He kissed and licked and sucked until she was rocking, bucking against his mouth with her head tossed back and fingers tangled in his hair to hold him in place. She whispered his name beneath gasping moans and delightful tremors until she suddenly held her breath. Yanking him up by his hair, she stared him dead in the eye, lips parted in a pant and pupils fully dilated.

"Anna?" Kristoff inquired cautiously, shrinking under her intense gaze, "Are you okay?" Her answer was to yank his trousers down and to his knees and rapidly pump her hand along his shaft. He buckled, leaning in to claim her mouth with a deep squeak. Shifting closer to him, Anna bucked her hips against his and mumbled two words that drove Kristoff so far over the edge he almost collapsed on top of her: "Take me."

For their second time, they weren't terrible. Still awkward and clumsy, bumping foreheads as he laid her back farther in the sled and exchanging embarrassed, blushy smiles when he propped himself in position. But not terrible. Especially not to them. They moved together, Anna clearly leading this dance as she guided his hands to her chest and nibbled on his lower lip. His eyes fluttered shut, rocking her gently. She was still sore and this was like reopening a wound, but she only hurt for a moment or two before it gave way to something kind. Her belly burned with pleasure that filled her from her toes to the top of her head and she could only hope he was feeling the same thing.

Which he was. The panting in her ear and strangled grunts in his throat made it quite obvious that he was barely holding together. His knees shook, his back strained, and his arms trembled holding himself above her. “Anna,” he moaned against her plush lips, earning a smile and a single, enthusiastic thrust that forced a groan from his mouth.

Eventually he couldn’t hold out any longer and she didn’t want him to. With a few strangled gasps and a cry from Anna, both of them climaxed seconds apart, Kristoff laying carefully on top of her to catch his breath. "I love you," he felt her breathe, setting his heart aflutter. For once he wasn't confused about his feelings, only content and intrigued. He rolled off her to spoon her back, cuddling her close to him as he pulled a blanket up over them. Silence caressed their in sync heartbeats until finally Kristoff stuttered a deep breath. When he spoke, Anna could tell he was crying, "I love you, Anna." Having a thing for colour gave her extensive knowledge, but she had never seen anything as bright and pure as the light that blinded her then.

Kristoff's light, and love. "I love you," he whispered again, and she almost fainted.


	16. Summer's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last one before we get into the main story line. I’m rewriting Frozen, you could call it. If that’s not your cup of tea, I’m terribly sorry. It won’t be very much like the movie, I promise.

Kristoff stared blankly at the wooden gates in front of him. He’d already tried hailing the guards to tell them to get Anna, they totally ignored him. He tried just pushing them open himself, but they were latched from the inside. He didn’t understand. The castle hadn’t been closed for months now, but all of a sudden it shunned the world again. He vaguely wondered if this was his punishment, if Elsa found out he defiled her sister and forbid her from seeing him ever again. However, that didn’t sound like Elsa. She’d confront him head on, not hide away.. Right?

Maybe she knew that ignoring him would be a worse punishment than lecturing him. He hated to be ignored, which is why he ignored most people, so they couldn’t do it first. If she was trying to get to him, it was working. He clenched his fists angrily and kicked the doors before stomping away. He shouldn’t have been upset with Anna, but he was. She said she loved him, so why wasn’t she there? Why would she just let her sister do this without even so much as a message for him? Ice was delivered to the castle weekly, she could have easily told one of the other harvesters to tell him what was going on.

Eyes brimmed with tears, he strode to the edge of town and past, up the side of the hill and to his old campsite before Anna moved him closer to the castle. He sat on a stump, pretending he could hear her little footsteps running after him, begging him not to cry and apologizing for whatever was going on. He tried to convince himself as much as imaginary Anna did, tried to hold back the waterslide of anguish he was feeling at being left alone again. “She said she loved me,” he whimpered, wiping his face, “She said she loved me.”


	17. Five Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here we go! Let's see how this turns out!

Kristoff pulled back on the reins, veering Sven sideways so they wouldn’t run over the one flagging them down. “Elsa?” he questioned worriedly, watching her glance wildly around until her eyes rested on his sled. “You have to take me away from here,” the distraught queen shoved him hard to make room for her on the seat. He didn’t know she had such strength in such a small body. “Elsa,” he repeated firmly, “What is going on?”

“I can’t turn it off!”

“What?”

“The snow, look at the snow!”

He hadn’t noticed the great big flakes starting to fall until she pointed it out. Turning Sven and whipping the reins, Kristoff started them back the way he had been coming from. “What did you do?” he yelled over the wind. Elsa shielded her face from it with the cloak she was wearing, “I-I was just.. Practicing! It’s been getting stronger and I can’t make it stop!” The sky darkened with heavy clouds and Kristoff watched the thawing trees freeze up again like they’d never been melting at all. Something in Elsa’s explanation didn’t seem right to him, “Practicing did this? This is a storm! What were you doing, picturing blizzards?” They slowed to a stop when she didn’t reply. Her eyes flicked rapidly back and forth, ‘What are you doing? Keep going, I can’t be near Arendelle! Go, Sven!”

Kristoff grabbed her wrist as she reached for the leads, “You don’t tell him what to do, I do. Now tell me what happened.” There would have been silence were it not for the howling wind and frost biting at their cheeks.Finally Elsa sighed and dropped her head into her hands, “Anna and I were fighting and I got so frustrated that it just sort of.. Happened.”

“What were you fighting about that made you so upset?”

“You.”

The big ice harvester was taken aback, “Me?” He hadn’t seen either of them for well over three summers now, and the gates had been closed for even longer than that. He was beginning to suspect it was something he did, until Elsa sought him out one night to explain that it was Anna who shut the gates and that he and Elsa, at least, were still friends. “We were arguing about why Anna shut you out,” Elsa rubbed her arm nervously, “I don’t agree with it.”

“So it was something I did.”

“No! Well, yes, technically, but it wasn’t your fault!”

“I thought she liked it.. Was I really that bad?”

“Wait, what?” Elsa stared at him because she felt he had a deeper meaning for that than what it sounded like. Kristoff cleared his throat, realizing she did not know about their many escapades. He spurred Sven into a trot up the side of the north mountain, avoiding looking at his passenger as he mumbled, “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“Okay,” Elsa considered him askance before shrugging, “Did you know she asked for my blessing of her marriage a couple months ago?” The sled came to an unceremonious stop and Kristoff’s deep voice rumbled, “What?”

“Yeah,” Elsa rolled her eyes, “To Hans, of all people! Of course I told her no.”

“Good! How dare she, that little brat. Just forget about me and-”

Elsa smacked him upside the head, “Don’t you talk about her that way. You know you still love her.”

That stung. That stung more than he thought it would, but he nodded. And he openly cringed at it, hurt more by her words than her blow. He almost whimpered, setting the sled off again with shaky hands. “Hey,” Elsa set her hand on his shoulder, “It’s going to be okay.”


	18. Bitter Sweet Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, one of you hit the nail right on the head. XD Kudos, you know part of what’s happening, but you don’t know everything. Mahahaha..

Anna watched deliriously as the big man in front of her pulled block after block of ice from the back of his old sled. He was handsome and bulky and.. Kristoff? She blinked and shook her head, recognizing the mop of tangled, blond hair and reindeer pulling the sleigh. She couldn’t believe it. After five years, he was standing right in front of her. Staring at her. “Oh-” Anna gasped when she realized she was staring back. He looked nervous, as he should have been. He’d probably been avoiding the castle deliveries for the very reason of seeing her. Elsa always made her get the ice incase he showed up. “Kristoff,” she cleared her throat with a curt nod, gathering her skirts and giving a slight bow in greeting. He didn’t return either, blinking like he didn’t know what to do.  
He’d certainly only gotten more attractive with age, standing a good foot above her still and having filled out his awkward limbs. She still remembered what that body could look like moving above her, in her- woah. Clearly there were still feelings, but she wouldn’t forgive him. She wouldn’t. With a small cough, Kristoff set the ice blocks up on the counter and handed her the bill, the whole time avoiding her standoffish gaze. No words were exchanged as she handed him coin, but when their hands brushed and their eyes met they both ached to fall into a long awaited embrace, neither knowing the other felt the same.  
As the sled pulled away, Anna looked down at the ring on her finger and cringed. Something felt wrong about it, she’d known since Elsa had refused to bless the marriage. However, she scolded herself for being drawn to Kristoff. He abandoned her, he didn’t want her. Stupid brain, she thought, dropping her forehead to the palm of her hand. But he’d always been so sweet. She never thought he’d do something like that, and Elsa didn’t believe it at all. She wondered vaguely if her sister knew something that she didn’t.

Kristoff sniffled, sitting in the back of his sled with one of Anna’s hair ribbons in his calloused hand. Sven nudged his knee in concern, ears drooping and eyes round. “I’m okay, boy,” Kristoff assured him, stroking his muzzle absentmindedly. The gesture gave him some comfort, until it reminded him of Anna’s sweet hair. “Reindeers are better than people,” he sobbed, then in a higher, funnier voice, “Except Anna.”  
“I know Sven, I know. I miss her, too.”


	19. In the Name of the Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Kristoff and Anna, huh? Wonder what happened..

Anna tapped her foot angrily in front of the ice house. As soon as she found out he knew where Elsa was, she stomped there immediately. However, something about how familiar this was relaxed her, until she saw him. He looked especially annoyed to see her there. “Do you need something?” he asked gruffly. Anna snorted, “I need you to tell me where my sister is.” Kristoff paused in unloading ice, “I can’t do that. She made me promise not to. How did you even find out I know?”  
“Word travels. Overheard someone say she was last seen in your sled with you.” Something about the way she phrased that made her stiffen, but she shrugged it off. Kristoff wasn’t attracted to Elsa, and Elsa for damn sure wasn’t attracted to Kristoff. They wouldn’t have done anything.. Right? He was eyeing her up and down when she came back from her thoughts, straightening herself and brushing off her skirts. “What?”  
“I said, does that bother you, Princess?”  
“No! No. Of course not,” she replied a little too quickly, “I’m just worried about my sister.”  
“Hm,” Kristoff rolled his eyes. On the inside he was hurting just looking at her, though. His inner child shivered in fright, afraid to say something he’d end up regretting. He wasn't trying to be cold, but his fear got the better of him. "Take me to her," Anna demanded, "now." Poor Kristoff gave her a beaten look, suddenly feeling the hurt, "Okay."  
Anna huffed, but then blinked, "Wait, what? You said yes?" He nodded before unpacking the rest of the ice and clearing some space in his sled for her. Something of which, was the lute she bought him. He still had the lute she bought him, it pained her chest to see.  
The ride out of town was incredibly awkward, neither looking at the other. Very little words were spoken. Kristoff was battling with himself about this. Elsa told him she wanted to be left alone. Did that include Anna? What about him? He had to stall, but the longer he was around Anna, the worse he felt. What was he suppose to do?  
"Kristoff?" Anna suddenly squeaked. He must have been zoning. "Yes, Anna?" he replied, shaking himself. "What's wrong?"  
"Nothing."  
"You're not a very good liar."  
"I miss you."  
Whatever she was expecting, that was not it. She thought he was going to say he was uncomfortable or something, but that? That made her wince, which he noticed out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, you okay?" Anna waved her hand dismissively, "Fine, fine. Just hurt."  
"Hurt? Did I do something?"  
"Well, you abandoned me."  
Kristoff jerked back on Sven's reins hard enough to make the reindeer grunt. They were stopped and Kristoff turned in his seat to face Anna, chest heaving, "I did not, would never, abandon you. I loved you. I thought you loved me, but you shut me out!" His voice was steadily rising but also becoming choked, like he would cry. "I did no such thing," Anna snorted, puffing up in an attempt to look bigger than she really was.  
"No? Then why were the gates closed?"  
She didn't give him an answer. Or couldn't. In a way, he was right, and she wasn't willing to admit that. She was starting to feel guilty so she dropped the subject, waiting for him to get the sled going again. "Whatever," she mumbled under her breath, but really she just wanted him back. He said he loved her. Did he still? Maybe that's why he was acting so cold. He never was good at expressing his emotions.  
Anna pondered the rest of the ride, until they unexpectedly stopped and Kristoff hugged her to him. "Kris?" she squealed, unsure what she should do. She was engaged, but she loved this man holding her. I've made a mistake, she confessed to herself as she gently pulled away, I've made a terrible mistake.


	20. Somewhat of an Apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, this happened..

Anna was blushing horribly. Good thing Oaken rearranged the shelves to block the sauna from view. Kristoff had convinced her that they needed to rest for the night, but she suspected he was stalling in getting her to Elsa. Either way, they were here now. She stood outside the door peeking in through the little window, the glass not yet steamy enough to block her view. What she was seeing made her hot between the thighs and broke her heart at the same time.  
Kristoff had his head leaned back against the wall and hands on himself, pumping faster than Anna ever thought she could. But he was crying, too, fat, salty tears creating trails on his humid skin. Eventually he just stopped, slamming his palms to his eyes, his body racked with great sobs, and Anna knew this whole situation was because of her. He didn't have the motivation to finish what he was doing, laying down curled up on the bench with his towel beside him, forgotten.  
Anna tried the door. Locked. Huffing and walking back to the front desk, she leaned up on the counter, "Oaken, could I have the keys to the sauna?"  
"Ooh, is it locked? I will get it, don't worry."  
"No!" Anna put her hands up defensively, "I mean, no, I would like a little privacy."  
Oaken nodded his head and sat back down, fiddling around in a desk drawer, "Okay. Just bring them back when you're done."  
Unlatching the wooden door, Anna entered the small room as silently as she could and came to kneel beside the poor, big, mountain man. And he had only gotten bigger with age, everywhere. "Kristoff?" she spoke softly, brushing her thumb under his eye. He started, jumping to a sitting position, "Anna!" In a panic, he threw the towel over his lap, which only made his erection more noticeable. Anna didn't seem to care at the moment. She sat next to him, "Are you okay?" The momentary break in her cold wall made Kristoff seem much softer to her than she originally thought he was being. He didn't look annoyed, just scared. He also couldn't answer her because he was sobbing again, wiping at his eyes and trying to get a sentence out. "Ssh," Anna cooed, scooting closer to him, "it's okay. It'll be okay."  
"You're here with me," he blubbered back. Anna nodded and set her hand on his thigh, slowly moving it under the towel. Kristoff grabbed her wrist and they both stared at each other, realizing they'd been in this situation before. "Please?" Anna bit her lip, "I want to."  
Letting go, Kristoff moved both hands to cup her cheeks and for a moment she thought he would kiss her, but he didn't. He just stared and she stared right back, palming the head of his cock through the towel. When she removed the cloth, his eyes fluttered but didn't close. He stayed staring intensely, as if searching for something in her face. Even though his body jerked and bucked against her hand, his eyes did not break from hers. It was a silent agreement of apology, a wordless confession of adoring love. It was only amplified when he finished and she licked him clean.  
For the rest of the night, they were old friends, but they never touched besides a nudge or a brush of the fingers.


	21. Traitorous Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple more chapters before we find out what happened!

"Elsa!" Anna screeched, pounding her fists on the ice door. It was a crude structure of a house, but it was sturdy enough to keep Anna out. "Kristoff, get her out of here," came a muffled command from the other side of the block. Kristoff was torn between helping one or the other.

"Kristoff, break the door!" one demanded.

"Kristoff, please get her away from me," the other begged.

He didn't know what to do. Suddenly the door was blown open and Elsa stood in the middle of a hurricane. The wind whipped about her threateningly, tiny shards of ice sprayed by the force of it. "She's not safe here," Elsa growled, but there were tears in her eyes. She made his mind up for him with a flick of her wrist. The ice around Anna began to crack and shatter. Without a second thought, he yanked her up over his shoulder and nodded fervently as he backed away. "It's okay, Elsa!" he called above the roar, "We're leaving! It's okay!"

"Hey!" Anna beat him with her little fists and kicked her legs futilely, "Put me down! Let go!" But he wouldn't, standing horrified as her loud shrieks caused an echo that made the mountain shake. Then the storm stopped and Elsa had disappeared again, but the rumbling hadn't. "Anna.." Kristoff set her down, pointing behind them at the fast approaching wall of snow and ice, "I think we should run!" For once, she didn't argue.

They took off down the mountain as fast as their legs could carry them, which wasn't very fast for the one in a dress. Kristoff practically drug her along next to him, ducking branches and jumping fallen trees until finally they reached the edge of the cliff and the avalanche caught up to them. The icy force swept them up and over the side like they were lighter than air, both screaming as they fell a good two hundred feet.

The landing was softer than expected, but they were quickly buried in another foot or so of powdery snow. Kristoff sat up spitting flakes out of his mouth, calling, "Sven!" The reindeer came bounding happily, obviously oblivious to what just happened. Anna was half submerged and still angry, huffing, "I can't believe you! You brought me up here and then you were just going to take me away? She's my sister! She needs me!"

"Yeah, alive!" Kristoff snapped.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

He bit back an ugly retort, standing and pulling her up out of the snowbank. She let out a clearly impressed gasp at his strength but didn't comment. They stared at each other again. It seemed like they couldn't be together without doing so. "Are you okay?" Kristoff finally softened first, taking her hand gently in his. She swallowed a lump and looked down at their gloved fingers, nodding slowly.

"So, now what?"

"Now.. We find someone else who knows magic that can help Elsa."

Both their eyes widened but they had entirely different facial expressions. It was like deja vu, how they looked at each other, Anna grinning and Kristoff frowning deeply. They had the same thought: his family.


End file.
